Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź was one the first museums in the world to display avant-garde art, and the only one created as of an outcome of transnational collaboration and artistic solidarity. While the history of modernity and its museums is inherently linked to the oppressive systems of power, Muzeum Sztuki strived for accessibility and emancipation for all since its collection was opened to the public in 1931. By analyzing institutional history through the themes of gift, access, and of labor behind them, the presentation will discuss how exhibition-making is tied to world-making, and how a museum can become a tool for emancipatory thinking and for broadening political imagination.

Jakub Gawkowski is a curator in the Modern art Department of Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź. At the museum, he curates temporary exhibitions and co-curates permanent exhibition from the museum’s extensive collection of 20th and 21st century art. His recent exhibitions at the museum include The Earth is Flat Again – an international grup show centered around the topics of science and knowledge (2021/2022). He graduated from the History Department of Central European University, Budapest.