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artists: Archive of Public Protests, Krzysztof Maniak, Jana Shostak, Mikołaj Sobczak, Weronika Wysocka
nominating committee: Michał Grzegorzek, Magdalena Komornicka, Marta Kudelska, Piotr Lisowski, Ada Piekarska, Michalina Sablik, Gabriela Warzycka-Tutak
curator: Magdalena Komornicka
collaboration: Joanna Andruszko, Julia Leopold, Marta Miś, Aleksandra Zientecka
visual identification: Karolina Pietrzyk, Tobias Wenig
photos: Maciej Landsberg
video: Marcelina Gorczyńska

The Views competition, which for nearly two decades has presented the most significant phenomena in Polish art at a given time, this year be held not only for the last time, but also in a changed formula. It seems that due to the selection of this year’s finalists, it is an exceptional edition — not only in artistic terms.

‘Why did a film by a young director so steeped in Polish reality and history, unknown in the world, attract the interest of the Venice festival bosses?’ reviews of the film Leave No Traces asked. Why was it now that Abdulrazak Gurnah has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, ‘for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gap between cultures and continents’? Is the Palme d’Or for Julia Ducournau’s film and the Best Director Oscar for Chloé Zhao a coincidence? Why did the jury of this year’s Youth and Film festival in Koszalin decide to award the acting prize to gender (sic!), and why did Bartosz Bielenia, who played the lead role in Jan Komasa’s film Corpus Christi, nominated for the Lux European Parliament prize, shout in its forum? Film or literature awards are accompanied by heated debates and annually repeated accusations of their politicisation, and this applies to a lesser extent to the awards for achievements in the so-called visual arts. And yet, competitions or festival selections are not only about choosing the ‘best’, but also about drawing attention to what is important, current, socially and politically discussed.

For 18 years, each edition of the Views competition has provoked criticism and speculation about who should (or should not) have been among the nominees and who should win. This year’s Views is not only a presentation of exceptional artistic personalities or an attempt to grasp trends and phenomena, because in the artistic practices of ALL of this year’s finalists, we see above all a vivid response to contemporary times affected by crises. To choose among them is like deciding whether the climate crisis, a free Belarus, exclusions, emotional disturbances or human rights are the most important. Since the first edition of the competition in 2003, the intention of the organisers has been — besides honouring artists — to show the broad and diverse context of young Polish art. Today it is identical to the socio-political context.

This year’s finalists include an 18-person collective of men and women photographers who form the Archive of Public Protests — a platform for the distribution of images relating to socio-political tensions in post-2015 Poland. The A-P-P collects visual traces of social activism, grassroots initiatives to oppose political decisions, violations of democratic principles and human rights. It is a warning against rising populism, widespread discrimination and the climate crisis.

Nature and other species are the field of Krzysztof Maniak, whose work is based on activities in the landscape. His works are usually discreet, simple gestures and interactions with the nature of his hometown of Tuchów. Until now, the artist has been appreciated for his attention to locality and the countryside. Today, a different attitude towards time and the materiality of art, calmness and attentiveness are particularly resonant in his works.

Jana Shostak is the author of the idea that instead of the stigmatising term ‘refugee’, the noun nowak/nowaczka [newcomer, masculine and feminine forms] should be introduced into the public space. For more than a year, she has been co-creating the Minute-Long Scream for Belarus time monument, every day at 6 p.m. In her latest work, a performance of Krzykucha. Stand Up (For Your Rights) Comedy, she proclaims that without laughter, there is no revolution!

Mikołaj Sobczak addresses the subject of exclusions, omissions and silences in relation to socially marginalised groups. The artist, who combines painting, performance and video in his practice, addresses the issue of contemporary historical politics. In his contemporary history paintings, he depicts the outstanding protagonists of the LGBTQ movement, queer and emancipatory countercultural milieus and resistance movements alongside imaginary figures and beings from a transgressive utopia.

Weronika Wysocka studies, among other things, contemporary emotions processed and directed by social media and new emotionality emerging in relation to developing technology. ‘Processing the same content in social media somehow caused a synchronicity in feeling the same strong emotions that pushed people to act and take to the streets. The 2020 protests in India, Belarus, the United States and Poland would not have reached such a scale without the viral and emotional power of social media. We are synchronised by algorithms’, says the artist.

However, it is not because of the commitment of the nominated artists or the issues they raise that we have decided not to award the main prize this year and not to produce a competition exhibition. ‘We demand the right to thrive in conditions that are caring and supportive’, the Black Obsidian Sound System collective, nominated for the 2021 Turner Prize, wrote in a statement. Ongoing crises have highlighted the need for change and the demand for new tools. In the arts, this can mean abandoning competition and supporting specific artistic practices. That is why this year’s edition of Views take the form of a public programme prepared together with artists. We will invite the public to participate in tours, workshops and performative activities. The work of the nominees will be made available in the form of interviews, reports and videos. This year, all finalists will receive PLN 10,000 each and their selected works will be submitted for purchase to the collection of Zachęta — National Gallery of Art.

This last edition will also be an opportunity to look back at the history of the competition and recall the more than 50 finalists. Looking back, we can see that Views is not only the history of contemporary Polish art, but also the history of Zachęta itself, the consolidation of the Polish art scene, the art market, as well as social and moral changes.