Potential histories. Curatorial tour of the exhibition
(in English)

Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
entry included in the ticket price

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We invite you to a curatorial tour of the Potential Histories exhibition.

The exhibition’s starting point is the concept of potential history formulated by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, a scholar of political thought and visual culture, in her book The Potential History: Unlearning Imperialism (2019). The author rejects history as an academic discipline, treating it as a tool of imperial violence and questioning the dominant narratives perpetuated by institutions (borders, nation-states, museums, and archives). Potential history is the reparative tool that she proposes, a strategy for retelling history from a non-Western and decolonial perspective. It reveals the recurring mechanisms of exploitation, but also allows us to address the effects of imperial violence as if it were happening here and now. In practice, the ‘unlearning of imperialism’ called for by Azoulay means writing history based on previously unexplored documents of the past or immaterial sources of knowledge, taking into account the multiplicity of identities and cultures that no longer exist or are currently disintegrating before our eyes. It is therefore a look at the past, but one that is oriented towards the future and the repair of contemporary relations.

Guide: Maria Brewińska, Joanna Kordjak, Katarzyna Kołodziej-Podsiadło

event accompanying the exhibition
  • 19.10.2024 – 02.02.2025
    POTENTIAL HISTORIES

    The works presented in the exhibition — films, installations and objects created in recent years by several artists — are united by the themes of appropriation, instrumental treatment and the reclaiming of history, presented in the context of current political tensions. These concern regions of recent and ongoing conflict marked by the legacy of colonialism and of Russian imperialism: the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.

    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
Upcoming events
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  • 19.10 (Sun) 13:15
    Curatorial Tour of the Exhibition
    (In Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 19.10 (Sun) 14:00
    Tea with the Aravani Art Project artist collective
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  • 19.10 (Sun) 16:00
    On what grounds? Presence of voice in institutional history | in Polish
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    Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)
  • 20.10 (Mon) 18:00
    Collective dreams, collective care
    Meeting with Paul O'Neill
    Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)
  • 23.10 (Thu) 12:15
    Thursday guided tours of current exhibitions
    (In Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 23.10 (Thu) 18:00
    Dawne mistrzynie. Kobiety, sztuka i ideologia
    (in Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 25.10 (Sat) 12:15
    Watch the exhibition together! Guided tour in plain Polish
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 25.10 (Sat) 13:00
    The Art of Feedback Loops – Open Workshops for Adults
    (In Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 26.10 (Sun) 10:45
    Yoga at Zachęta
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta – National Gallery of Art
  • 26.10 (Sun) 12:14
    Sunday guided tours
    (In Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 28.10 (Tue) 17:00
    Walking Exercises – Choreographic Tour of the Exhibition "What Dreams Do We Share?"
    (In Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 28.10 (Tue) 19:00
    A test at Your Mother's
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