“Travelling Images” is the first solo exhibition of Małgorzata Mirga-Tas – currently the major representative of contemporary Roma art – after the great success at 59. Biennial of Art in Venice. At the ICC we show a large selection of the artist’s works from years 2017–2022, including the series “Out of Egypt” and the series of large-format tapestries titled “Herstories”. We also present new works addressing, among others, the history of the Roma community in Nowa Huta and the Roma memory.

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas draws on the art of the past, especially Renaissance painting, as well as on everyday life. On the one hand she appropriates significant elements of European heritage and early modern art. On the other, she researches and incorporates photographs from her family archives.

The first part of the exhibition, titled “Atlas” is composed of the works by different artists – more and less known – that come from a variety of collections, and were produced in various techniques. They illustrate the stereotypical view of Roma people. In the following rooms we will see the pieces by Małgorzata Mirga-Tas. They disenchant established images and take a form of personal and collective self-presentation. This part of the exhibition is divided into five groups: “O Fotografis” (A photographer), “Newo Rom – newo drom” (New human/new Roma man – new way), “Siukar Manusia” (Good/wonderful people), “Giantesses”, and “Out of Egypt”. The artist addresses the issues of complex Romani and Polish identity, decolonisation of the Roma material cultural heritage, and the Holocaust of Roma and Sinti.

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas is inspired by Roma women, who are often cast as protagonists of her works. They are family members, closest collaborators, fellow artists and activists – significant figures for the Roma community. This specific minority feminism practiced by the artist seeks to deconstruct the stereotypical image of Roma women, perpetuated over the centuries in visual culture.

The artist produces monumental pieces and screens works with textiles and clothing. She often uses materials and personal belongings that were given to her by relatives and friends. Hypnotising, vibrant with colours, textures, and details, her collages and installations tell stories that demand our emotional investment.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published in Polish and English, featuring essays by the curators Natalia Żak and Wojciech Szymański, as well as essays by Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka, Anna Markowska, Weronika Kobylińska, Monika Weychert, and Aleksandra Szczepan.

The partner of the exhibition is the Scientific Library of the PAAS and the PAS in Kraków.

Curators

Wojciech Szymański

Exhibition Curator

Natalia Żak

Curator at the ICC

Curators

Wojciech Szymański

Exhibition Curator

Art critic and independent curator; Assistant Professor in the Department of Modern Art History at the University of Warsaw. He was awarded a fellowship from the Foundation for Polish Science (2016) and a scholarship from the Minister of Science and Higher Education for Outstanding Young Scientists (2017). He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and the Association of Art Historians. Since 2019, he has served as Editor-in-Chief of the annual journal Ikonotheka.

Natalia Żak

Curator at the ICC

Art historian and curator. She has collaborated with art galleries in Poland and abroad. At the International Cultural Centre in Kraków, she has co-curated exhibitions including Wandering Images: Małgorzata Mirga-Tas (2022), Not Only Bauhaus: Interwar German Photography and Polish Connections (2021), and Photobloc: Central Europe in Photobooks (Kraków, 2019/2020; Olomouc, 2020; Vilnius, 2021).

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