Views are coming to an end. The competition, co-organised with Deutsche Bank Polska since 2003, has presented the most interesting attitudes on the young artistic scene. The nominees and winners of the award include the names of the most important visual artists in Poland today, and the nearly twenty-year history of Views is not only an interesting look at the history of contemporary art, but also at Polish reality. In mid-October 2021, we announced the winners of the 10th edition of the competition. They are the Archive of Public Protests, Krzysztof Maniak, Jana Shostak, Mikołaj Sobczak and Weronika Wysocka.
However, the latest Views differ in formula from previous editions. There is no competition exhibition, no rivalry — all finalists are also winners. The 33rd issue of the Zachęta Online Magazine will also have a slightly different character. Over the coming weeks, we will be presenting the protagonists of Views 2021 and the winners of previous editions of the competition — also in the context of our collection and exhibitions.
“Something that was triggered by various coincidences has become an enduring value. And we’ve been working to make it permanent. Twenty years is a span of one generation. Even for that reason, I believe it’s been a success.” —says the former president of DB Polska, the founder of the Views award.
“My life can be divided into two periods: before and after last year’s revolution. Then I drifted from the art world towards activism and it turned out to be very difficult” — says the artist and co-creator of the “Minute shout for Belarus” temporary monument.
“Social media has made everything always about you, your attitude to something, a comment, an action. From this relationship comes engagement and a sense of empowerment, a sense of community, but also frustration and confusion” says the artist, who in her practice focuses on the issues of technological progress and its impact on man and nature.
The penultimate edition of Views (2019) brought the main prize to Dominika Olszowy. The Zachęta collection includes an installation by the artist Peep Show – created for the exhibition at Raster gallery, it focused on “the intimate relationship between art and vodka”.
The winner of the first edition of the Zachęta and Deutsche Bank competition, showed the documentation of her action for the first time at the Common Affairs exhibition at the KunstHalle DB in Berlin, which summed up all the previous editions of the competition.
