Ambiguous. Phenomena of Warsaw

Ambiguous. Phenomena of Warsaw

Warsaw can be seen through the prism of many different experiences. For some, history and places will matter most; for others, people and their everyday practices. Ambiguous. Phenomena of Warsaw is an attempt to look at the city from several distinct perspectives and an invitation to join the conversations about what sets it apart today. The exhibition will run from 29 October 2026 to 25 April 2027 at the Museum of Warsaw, Rynek Starego Miasta 32 in Warsaw.

The exhibition was created through a participatory process and is the result of work by the Museum of Warsaw team with experts and its audience. It consists of six multilayered images of the city, in which we try to capture the atmosphere and character of often very different phenomena.

Co-creating an exhibition with the public is a challenge. This concerns both the design stage and the moment the space is opened to visitors. Working on a multi-threaded story about the phenomena of Warsaw together with the city’s residents, we looked for many different solutions. We hope the outcome of this months-long work will allow more people to join this “conversation” – says dr. hab. Beata Nessel-Łukasik, one of the exhibition’s curators.

From 29 October, visitors to the Museum of Warsaw at Rynek Starego Miasta will be able to answer this invitation from the curators and explore the exhibition’s six thematic areas: Identity, Forum of Memory, Diversity, Prestige, Ties and More than a City.

There is no single answer to the question of what Warsaw’s identity is – says co-curator Aleksandra Sołtan. It is made up of events important to the city’s history, iconic buildings and places, culture and tradition, but at the same time it is subjective, shaped by our personal stories and experiences. Working in a large curatorial team showed that there is no single identity. It can be perceived differently by different people. It is shaped by belonging to a place that is for us something more than a space; it is our Centre.

Identity – where is my centre of Warsaw?

The first zone introduces visitors into a multidimensional and ambiguous world. The starting points are, on one hand, the history and role of the city and, on the other, the dynamics of Warsaw’s transformations over several centuries. By asking where the centre of the city lies today, the curators have created a space in which one can indicate one’s own symbols that fit into the contemporary identity of Warsaw.

Forum of Memory – how do I remember this city?

Plac Piłsudskiego, a place known from the pages of our history, becomes in the exhibition a starting point for looking at memory as a space of conflict and negotiation. Ceremonies, demonstrations and spontaneous commemorations, as well as changing names and monuments, show that Warsaw’s history is not a closed chapter but continues to be reinterpreted. This part of the exhibition also tells the story of residents who took matters into their own hands at crucial moments – a symbol of which remains the postwar reconstruction of the city.

In Warsaw, on one hand, everything that modern people grapple with is concentrated, and on the other, traces of the past are everywhere, both wounds and memories of past glory – says Anna Duńczyk-Szulc, one of the exhibition’s curators. These traces intertwine with the present and shape us. Today the capital gives room to different languages, religions and ways of life. We would not have been able to capture this phenomenon of the city in the exhibition without the participation of many people and their diverse perspectives. The effect of this dialogue is surprising to me; I feel we managed to go beyond the template, gain distance, and capture the city’s perversity!

Diversity – who is a Varsovian?

Warsaw has many identities and forms of memory that constantly come and go with successive generations. Recognising the role residents play in shaping the city, the curators give voice to specific people. Through their stories, juxtaposed with museum collections and works…