The Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Marta Cienkowska, has approved the project Liquid Tongues, submitted by curators Ewa Chomicka and Jolanta Woszczenko, for realisation in the Polish Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition in Venice in 2026. Authored by Bogna Burska in collaboration with Daniel Kotowski, with the participation of Chór w Ruchu, Alicja Czyczel, Aleksandra Gryka and Magdalena Mosiewicz, the project has been recommended as the winning proposal by the competition jury.

On 20 August, the jury for the second stage of the competition convened at Zachęta – National Gallery of Art to select the curatorial project for the exhibition in the Polish Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition in Venice in 2026. Appointed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the jury consisted of: Marta Czyż, Dorota Jarecka, Donata Jaworska, Magdalena Komornicka, Emilia Orzechowska, Agnieszka Pindera, Stanisław Ruksza, Joanna Sokołowska, Piotr Stasiowski, Urszula Święcicka and Olga Wysocka. Jury member Matylda Taszycka was absent from the deliberations of the competition’s second stage.

From the 95 entries submitted to the competition, the jury selected the project Liquid Tongues, proposed by curators Ewa Chomicka and Jolanta Woszczenko and authored by Bogna Burska in collaboration with Daniel Kotowski, with the participation of Chór w Ruchu, Alicja Czyczel, Aleksandra Gryka and Magdalena Mosiewicz.

The jury’s statement:

‘The winning project, Liquid Tongues, has been selected for addressing the challenge of communication inspired by more-than-human life. By exploring International Sign Language and the communicative practices of whales, it raises questions about forming new relationships and sensitivities that transcend the boundaries of otherwise inaccessible worlds. Experimenting with diverse forms of expression, the work broadens the horizons of social imagination concerning the right to participate in a shared world. It speaks of the dream of reaching understanding through gesture and the body.’

Eclipse, submitted by Natalia Sielewicz with the participation of Agnieszka Polska, has been selected as the reserve project.

In accordance with the competition regulations, all projects admitted to the competition will be made public in a form chosen by the organiser. Concepts of the exhibitions and summaries for all projects submitted to the competition are available, while full scenarios with visualisations will only be published with the curators’ consent.

> Polish Pavilion in Venice

61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
9 May–22 November 2026
More about the Art Biennale: https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2026

Poland’s participation in the 61st International Art Exhibition in Venice is financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.