“‘I Am a Political Animal.’ Jerzy Giedroyc and ‘Kultura’ 1947–2000”

EXHIBITION EXTENDED UNTIL 13 DECEMBER.

OPENING: 25 June, 6:00 PM OPENING WEEKEND: 27–28 June (during the opening weekend, admission to the exhibition costs one złoty).

In the Year of Jerzy Giedroyc, established by the Senate of the Republic of Poland, the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw invites you to an exhibition devoted to one of the most important figures of Polish intellectual life in the 20th century and to the Literary Institute and the monthly „Kultura” that he founded. The exhibition “I Am a Political Animal”. Jerzy Giedroyc and „Kultura” 1947–2000 will be on view from 25 June to 31 October 2026.

The exhibition traces Jerzy Giedroyc’s work at the intersection of politics, literature and social life. It guides visitors through the successive stages of his biography, from his youth and journalism in the interwar period, through wartime emigration and the founding of the Literary Institute, to the more than half-century history of the Parisian „Kultura”, which became one of the most important independent centres of Polish political and literary thought in exile.

Literature and the circle of writers gathered around Jerzy Giedroyc occupy a special place in the exhibition’s narrative. Visitors will be able to see photographs, archival documents and manuscripts associated with the outstanding authors who published in „Kultura” and at the Literary Institute, among them Czesław Miłosz, Jerzy Stempowski, Witold Gombrowicz, Józef Czapski, Juliusz Mieroszewski, Konstanty A. Jeleński, Józef Wittlin and Stanisław Vincenz.

An important element of the exhibition will also be Jerzy Giedroyc’s correspondence with writers and intellectuals, a unique record of relationships that went beyond publishing collaboration and formed a wide network of contacts centred on the ideas of free culture and independent thought. The exhibition will also present paintings by Józef Czapski and Jan Lebenstein from the collections of the Museum of Literature.

The exhibition has been created in cooperation with the Association Institut Littéraire „Kultura” in Maisons-Laffitte, which allows the public to see, for the first time, numerous materials from the archive of the Literary Institute, a place that for half a century was the seat of the publishing house and editorial office of Jerzy Giedroyc’s journal.

The exhibition is a story about the role of the word, literature and independent reflection in the struggle against totalitarianism, and at the same time a reminder of the significance of the legacy of Jerzy Giedroyc and the Parisian „Kultura” for contemporary Polish culture and political thought.

The works presented in the exhibition come from the collections of the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw and from the Archive of the Literary Institute in Maisons-Laffitte, except for objects marked with information about their source.

The exhibition has been realised as part of the celebrations of the Year of Jerzy Giedroyc, established by the Senate of the Republic of Poland (2026). It has been co-funded from the funds of the Mazovian Voivodeship Local Government. The following have honorary patronage over the exhibition:

Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska Marshal of the Mazovian Voivodeship Adam Struzik Mayor of the Śródmieście District of the capital city of Warsaw Aleksander Ferens The partner of the exhibition is the Association Institut Littéraire Kultura in Maisons-Laffitte.

The Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature is financed from the funds of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Mazovian Voivodeship Local Government

Honorary patronage:

Media partners:

Colophon: „I AM A POLITICAL ANIMAL” JERZY GIEDROYC AND „KULTURA” 1947–2000 Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw 25 June – 31 October 2026

Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature: dr Beata Michalec Curators, scenario authors: Agnieszka Papieska, Andrzej Stanisław Kowalczyk Conservation care: Urszula Więch-Jędras Exhibition design: Kuba Maria Mazurkiewicz English translation: Agnieszka Pokojska Publishing work: Alicja Kmiecińska, Marta Cyzio **Printing of copies…