Edited by: Taras Gembik, Joanna Kordjak, Antonina Stebur
Graphic design: Kaja Kusztra
Translation: Łukasz Mojsak
Editing: Małgorzata Jurkiewicz, Jolatna Pieńkos
Proofreading: Paulina Bożek
Typesetting: Kszystof Łukawski
Publisher: Zachęta - Narodowa Galeria Sztuki

Published: 2025
ISBN: 9788366979499
Cover: softback
Pages: 64
Language: Polish

The Polish version of an official folder for the exhibition What Are Our Collective Dreams? Global Connections — Abandoned Friendships

This exhibition of contemporary art and archival materials critically examines a forgotten chapter of cultural policy from the Polish People’s Republic, focusing on the role of Zachęta, then the Central Bureau of Art Exhibitions (CBWA), and the function of cultural institutions today. The show explores Poland’s artistic relationships with regions and countries of the global majority, including Latin America, India, Vietnam, and Palestine. The point of departure is the concept of ‘internationalist friendship’ and its underlying infrastructure. This friendship was profoundly ambivalent — an expression of emancipatory and unifying aspirations that was simultaneously based on dependencies rooted in the exploitation of natural resources, cheap labour, and violence.