Ewa Partum: The Legality of Space

Wyspa Art Institute, Gdańsk

The Wyspa Institute of Art has resided on the grounds of the former Gdańsk Shipyard since 2004. The quasi-institutional, innovative organisation combines the presentation of contemporary art with deliberations on social culture. Wyspa’s projects deal with problems of history and memory – as, for instance, “Strażnicy Doki” (Dockwatchers) – and the political dimension of art. The conferences “Arte.Akt”, “BHP”, and “Pułapka na mszy” (The Mousetrap) addressed issues surrounding the contextualisation of modern art institutions. The activities of the Wyspa Institute of Art redefine the concept institution in contemporary art by subjecting political and social contexts to critical reflection and by analysing the processes of production and presentation of art. Director of the Institute is the curator and art historian Aneta Szyłak.
Legally and organisationally, the Institute is tied to the Wyspa Progress Foundation, which was established in 1994 and is located in the vicinity of Modelarnia, an artists’ cooperative. The Foundation is a public benefit organisation that previously operated Wyspa Gallery and initiated the establishment of the Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art. President of the Foundation is Grzegorz Klaman, artist and professor at the Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts.
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