Monika Drożyńska. Word of Resistance

Word of Resistance. A Solo Exhibition by Monika Drożyńska

January 31 – March 30, 2025
Curators: Ewa Chacianowska, Eliza Urwanowicz-Rojecka

This solo exhibition highlights the work of Monika Drożyńska, an artist who calls herself “Poland’s chief embroiderer.” Drożyńska sees embroidery as an artistic intervention, a form of activism, a tool for textual expression in visual arts, and a source of creative joy. The exhibition goes beyond her renowned embroidered works to present a comprehensive view of her diverse and less familiar artistic practices. These include examples of community-based art projects and her photographic explorations, which date back to the late 1990s.

Monika Drożyńska (b. 1979) is a visual artist, embroiderer and activist with a PhD in Art. A trailblazer in integrating embroidery techniques into contemporary art and textiles into public spaces, she has collaborated with prestigious institutions such as the POLIN Museum, Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Mumok in Vienna, Ludwig Museum in Budapest, and Bozar in Brussels. Her works are part of the collections of Bunkier Sztuki in Kraków, the National Museum in Kraków, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), the National Museum in Kyiv, and Lentos in Linz. Winner of the POLITYKA’s Passport 2024 (annual Polish cultural award presented by the Polityka weekly magazine since 1993) in the Visual Arts category: ‘For art that entertains but also mobilises. For activities that bring people closer to art and art closer to people. For skilfully combining artistry with activism and the everyday with the festive. For bravely bringing embroidery into the salons of art’ (quoted after: https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kultura/paszporty/2284923,1,sztuki-wizualne-monika-drozynska-laureatka-paszportu-polityki.read).

CURATORIAL TEXT [PDF]
DESCRIPTIONS OF WORKS [PDF]

EVENTS ACCOMPANYING THE EXHIBITION

31 January (Friday) – 6:00 pm
Opening Night

1 February (Saturday) – 12:00 pm
Curator’s Tour with the Artist

2 March (Sunday) – 12:00 pm
Tour in Belarusian (A. Wawrzeniuk)

15 March (Saturday) – 12:00 pm
Tour in Ukrainian (Y. Kostereva)

22 March (Saturday) – 11:00 am–4:00 pm
SitoHaft – Embroidery and Screen Printing Workshop with Monika Drożyńska and Kwiaciarnia Grafiki Studio

30 March (Sunday) – 11:00 am–5:00 pm
Curatorial Duty

Audio-described tours are available starting 4 March 2025, free of charge. Prior registration is required via email at j.bietkal@galeria-arsenal.pl or by phone at +48 85 87 42 061.

“TATTOOS” – Open Embroidery Sessions
January 31 – March 30, 2025 (Tuesday – Sunday) – 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Educational room “Plac Zabaw Arsenał”, ground floor
No registration required

Throughout the exhibition, we invite you to participate in open embroidery sessions. Join us for another edition of the Ink Stitches workshop dedicated to documenting tattoos. Gloomy days and long evenings are the perfect time for embroidery. Let’s sit together or work individually. Everyone can embroider their own (existing or dream) tattoo, or even someone else’s.

From the artist:
Tattoos is a fabric-based sociological project, a documentary of the images and meanings inscribed on the body. The people I spoke to believe that their tattoos possess magical, transformative power. Sometimes, body art is treated as an amulet—a reminder of victories, joys, or, at times, pain and suffering. My favorite tattoos are the ones that mean nothing or are simply absurd, and my favorite aesthetic is the ugly and careless kind.

MAN-U-FACTURERS – Self-Guided Workshops to Deepen Your Connection with the Exhibition: “THE WALL OF WORDS”
January 31–March 30, 2025 (Tuesday – Sunday) | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
Educational room “Plac Zabaw Arsenał”, ground floor
No registration required

After exploring the exhibition, we invite you to spend some time in the educational room. One of the walls has been set aside for your words—words of resistance, action, defiance, gratitude, admiration… Words that dwell in your hearts, waiting for the moment to be set free. Come in! Write!