The exhibition dates: October 23 – November 22, 2026, 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM (closed on Mondays)
Curator-led tour: October 29 (Thursday) at 11:00 a.m., November 5 (Thursday) at 4:00 p.m.
The exhibition venue: Great Hall (Aula), Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, Targ Węglowy 6
Concept and curation: Bogna Łakomska, Associate professor
Free admission

Between the Weaves tells the story of one of the most fascinating artistic challenges faced by the community of the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Gdańsk – the predecessor to today’s Academy of Fine Arts. An ambitious creative vision, intellectual scope, and the participation of leading artists, educators, and craftspeople associated with the school define this monumental collection of textiles, created upon commission for the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz. For the first time in history, the exhibition presents to the Gdańsk public thirteen of the thirty large-format tapestries designed and woven between 1979 and 1991 – produced within the walls of both the School and the Philharmonic.

The history and subject matter of these works are closely linked to Andrzej Szwalbe (1923–2002), the long-time director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz. A true polymath, he initiated the collection of artworks across various disciplines – sculpture, painting, textile art, and graphic art – and integrated them into the Philharmonic’s space. Szwalbe created a unique environment where music and the visual arts engaged in a creative dialogue. The series of tapestries was central to his vision. Its creation was conceived as a long-term project combining artistic, educational, and research objectives. Szwalbe himself devised the concepts for all the textiles, entrusting artistic supervision of the undertaking in April 1978 to Prof. Józefa Wnukowa (1911–2000). From the late 1940s, this distinguished artist headed the Decorative Textile Studio at the State Higher School of Fine Arts (PWSSP) in Gdańsk, as well as the Decorative Textile Artistic-Research Workshops operating alongside the school since the early 1950s.

Influenced, among others, by the French artist Jean Lurçat (1892–1966), Prof. Wnukowa developed the concept of a dialogue between disciplines, shaping the Studio into a space for creative experimentation and formal exploration. The tapestries created there were rooted in traditional weaving techniques yet engaged with contemporary artistic issues, exploring the relationships between structure, colour, and rhythm. They were also sensitive to the surrounding architecture and the function of the interior. In this context, the textile art piece became not only an autonomous work of art but also an integral element of the space – shaping its character and affecting the viewer through rhythm, tension, and harmony, much like music.

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The entire project grew from two roots: Szwalbe’s vision of the institution as a meeting place for various art forms, and the approach of the Textile Studio, where tapestry was treated as a “Gesamtkunstwerk” – a total work of art that was simultaneously material, spatial, historical, and modern. These perspectives converged into a narrative about textile art as a medium capable of engaging in dialogue with tradition, the contemporary world, other artistic disciplines, and, above all, the viewer.

The concept behind the exhibition presented at the Academy of Fine Arts differs from Szwalbe’s original intentions, as he had planned to arrange the works in thematic cycles. The Gdańsk exhibition guides viewers through three areas of reflection: identity, nature, and myth and mystery. These themes complement one another, revealing the rich significance of the textile medium; here, historical experience intertwines with universal motifs to create a multi-layered narrative of a philosophical and political nature.

The rich and diverse layers of meaning within the exhibited tapestries are matched by their formal beauty and masterful execution – featuring painterly colour palettes, sculptural textures, and a rhythm of weaving that feels almost musical. Created based on designs by leading artists associated with the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Gdańsk – Kiejstut Bereźnicki, Jerzy Krechowicz, Kazimierz “Kachu” Ostrowski, Mieczysław “Mieto” Olszewski, and Jerzy Zabłocki – these tapestries carry forward the unique creative idioms of each artist.

We invite you to view a selection from this extraordinary collection open until November 22. The collection emerged from the close collaboration of a group of artists within a unique artistic undertaking that has become a permanent part of the history of the Gdańsk academy.

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The exhibition presents a selection of thirteen textiles woven based on designs by Kiejstut Bereźnicki, Jerzy Krechowicz, Kazimierz “Kachu” Ostrowski, Mieczysław “Mieto” Olszewski, and Jerzy Zabłocki. Original design cartoons for the textiles will also be on display.

Visitors will find introductions to the various sections of the exhibition – written by curator Bogna Łakomska – while a series of texts by Magdalena Olszewska will facilitate navigation among the rich, multi-layered tapestries.

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Creators of the tapestries from the Pomeranian Philharmonic collection in Bydgoszcz

Series and diptychs: Polish Concert, Plants and Animals (artistic supervision of the series: Prof. Józefa Wnukowa), Mare Nostrum and Harmony of the Spheres (artistic supervision of the diptychs: Magdalena Heyda-Usarewicz – excluding the tapestry Sea of ​​the Prussians based on a design by Prof. Wnukowa)

Textile designs (full-scale, colour painted cartoons): Kiejstut Bereźnicki, Magdalena Heyda-Usarewicz (creator of the now-lost tapestry On the Seabed, formerly part of the Plants and Animals series), Jerzy Krechowicz, Mieczysław “Mieto” Olszewski, Kazimierz “Kachu” Ostrowski, Kazimierz Śramkiewicz, Józefa Wnukowa, Jerzy Zabłocki

Technical supervision of production: Krzysztof Charytoniuk, Józef Miętki

Wool dyeing based on the colour cartoon: Janina Basty

Interpretation of the cartoon into classical weaving technique: Krzysztof Charytoniuk, Romuald Gajewski, Józef Miętki, Grażyna Szuchnik, Izabela Turkiewicz, Elżbieta Zdrowowicz, Agata Zielińska

Weaving process: Hanna Cander, Krzysztof Charytoniuk, Zofia Ciężadlik, Janina Dunaj-Wekiera, Ewa Grochowska, Krystyna Gronowska, Elżbieta Kita, Janina Kurdach, Joanna Ligocka, Anna Pilczuk, Krystyna Rataj, Anna Rekowska, Jadwiga Rzewuska, Grażyna Sojka, Barbara Szerszeń, Grażyna Szuchnik, Izabela Turkiewicz, Elżbieta Zdrowowicz, Agata Zielińska

Curatorial Concept Development: Bogna Łakomska Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk)

Labels, explanatory notes, introductory and sectional texts: Magdalena Olszewska ( National Museum in Gdańsk), Bogna Łakomska (ASP w Gdańsku)

Conceptual support: Agata Zielińska-Głowacka, Anna Polańska, Małgorzata Jankowska (ASP w Gdańsku)

Selection of archival materials for the exhibition and development of biographies: Anna Polańska (ASP w Gdańsku)

Language editing: Aleksandra Halicka (ASP w Gdańsku), Steve Jones

Exhibition graphic design: Michał Pecko (ASP w Gdańsku)

Exhibition arrangement: Marta Branicka (ASP w Gdańsku)

Project coordination: Małgorzata Jankowska, Marzena Świniarska, Anna Tanaev (ASP w Gdańsku)

Archival photographs: Witold Węgrzyn (ASP w Gdańsku)

Looped films: ​​Weronika Jastrzemska (ASP w Gdańsku)

Animation: Weronika Dziurdziewicz (ASP w Gdańsku)

Conservatorship: Marek Malarski (Filharmonia Pomorska w Bydgoszczy/ Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz)

Promotion: Halina Malijewska,  Adrianna Sulska, Weronika Jastrzemska, Antonina Kałużna, Magdalena Świerczek, Maciej Nowacki (Biuro Promocji ASP w Gdańsku/ Promotion Office of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk), Katarzyna Szewczyk (Filharmonia Pomorska w Bydgoszczy/ Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz)

Technical team: Mirosław Maszota, Piotr Banaśkiewicz, Marek Lewandowski, Wojciech Konkel, Sławomir Nurkiewicz, Maciej Stefański (ASP w Gdańsku)

Curatorial text – download the Word file (39 KB)