A great day for Warsaw – the opening of MSN

The most anticipated investment in Warsaw will open to the public tomorrow. The new building of the Museum of Modern Art has been designed as a space where you can not only view works of art, but also relax and take part in interesting events. It is also another investment changing the center of the capital.

– I am very happy that we can all meet today at the Museum of Modern Art. This is a great day for Warsaw. For at least several reasons. Firstly, because there has not been a place like this in the capital for decades. A place that would be created from scratch – precisely to present Polish art. A place that is spectacular in itself. Secondly, this is an absolutely historic and exceptional moment for the capital city of Warsaw, also because the MSN is part of the New Centre of Warsaw project. We are slowly, after decades, managing to disenchant this part of the city and we are consistently rebuilding it. Thirdly, this is incredibly important – we will have a place at an absolutely world-class level, serving to promote Polish culture, Polish modern art, which enjoys great interest. But this place is much more. Because the MSN will be a place for meetings, a place for discussions – said the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, at the MSN headquarters one day before the opening of the building.

A historic moment for Warsaw

- We are pleased to welcome you to the new building of the Museum of Modern Art. We have waited a long time for it, the construction process was complex, but the most important thing is that we can all be here today. We really want it to be an institution for everyone, to be open to local artists of the local art scene and - as the President said - to stimulate international exchange. To be a place of discussion, where important social debates can take place, and at the same time a place of education and contemplation of art. – said Joanna Mytkowska, director of the museum.

The Museum of Modern Art is the first post-war museum in Warsaw, built as a new place for contemporary art. Other institutions opened in recent years are thematic or narrative museums, such as the Polish History Museum or the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

The museum will move its collections from several other previously operating locations to its current location on Marszałkowska Street. And the MSN collection is not small – it currently has over 2,600 objects and is constantly growing. It is dedicated to art created in Poland, mainly after 1989, and around the world. There is no other institution in Poland with a collection of this kind.

The MSN archive collections known as the Artists' Archive are also unique. These include publications, photographic documentation, artists' texts, private letters and documents, and official letters revealing the everyday lives of artists such as Zofia Rydet, Alina Szapocznikow, Wojciech Fangor, Eustachy Krasiński, and Tadeusz Rolke.

- Today, dreams come true. A dozen or so years ago, we had such a dream – a program for the development of culture in the capital was created: Warsaw, a city of culture and citizens. Today, when we open the Museum of Modern Art, I think this is the beginning of the fulfillment of this dream. The New Center of Warsaw is precisely a place of culture, full of greenery, open and friendly to residents. – said Aldona Machnowska-Góra, Deputy Mayor of Warsaw.

Grand opening

The opening of the MSN is scheduled for Friday evening, October 25, at 8:00 p.m. At that time, nine works of art by women will be available in the museum building. All of the artists present their own and innovative approach to painting and sculpture. In the spaces of the new building, you can see works by artists such as: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Karolina Jabłońska, Zhanna Kadyrova, Kateryna Lysowenko, Sandra Mujinga, Mariela Scafati, Monika Sosnowska, Alina Szapocznikow, and Cecilia Vicuña.

In addition to the display of selected works from the MSN collection, the opening will be accompanied by: performances, concerts, lectures and the "Warsaw Under Construction" festival. The museum publishing house and the cinema, which will be open for the first time, will prepare their proposals.

The most important events of the weekend will be concerts by world-famous artists from Poland and abroad. Friday's opening will be the only opportunity to see Katalin Ladik's performance "White Descent", which will artistically use the space of the monumental staircase of the MSN. The concert of the American music icon - Kim Gordon - will be displayed on the building's façade.

A work of art by Thomas Phifer

The building of the Museum of Modern Art is the work of the American architect Thomas Phifer, a student of the famous modernist Richard Meier. The shape is clearlytieand to the modernist urban tradition of this part of Warsaw and fits in with the buildings of the Eastern Wall and the Palace of Culture and Science.

- When I came here 10 years ago, I felt this extraordinary, new spirit, which was the beginning of the idea for this place. Many meetings, conversations and signed agreements led to the fact that today we can gather in the Museum of Modern Art. For me, as an architect, it is an extraordinary feeling when I look at this building – beautifully made of concrete, wood and stainless steel. Everything here was created by local craftsmen. It makes me proud to know how much this building means to Warsaw and Poland. – recalls Thomas Phifer, the originator and creator of the building.

The MSN building itself has a simple form, built on a plan of two rectangles. It consists of six floors – four above ground and two underground – a total of almost 20 thousand square meters of space, of which 4.5 thousand square meters are exhibition spaces. The whole is centered around a monumental, well-lit staircase. It is made up of two-flight stairs, which allow you to move freely towards the exhibition spaces located on the upper floors..

Exhibitions will be displayed in four galleries located on the first and second floors. The two gable galleries are lit with natural light diffused by skylights placed on the roof. Lower galleries will provide safe exposure for works requiring more rigorous lighting conditions. The floors also feature rooms for relaxation, casual conversation or educational activities.

The ground floor of the building also looks interesting with entrances from Marszałkowska Street and from the passage. This is where the fully glazed foyer, auditorium, educational and lecture space, temporary exhibition gallery, shop and café are located. All spaces on the ground floor fulfill public functions and are visible from the outside.

On the first underground floor, a cinema with an auditorium for 150 people, educational space, conservation workshops, warehouses and technical rooms were designed. On the second floor, rooms for storing and conserving works of art and other technical rooms were planned. The space in front of the museum was planned as a forum - a place for cultural activities, a link between Central Square and Świętokrzyski Park.

The entire structure was built of noble white architectural concrete. MSN is the first building in Poland and the largest in Europe with a suspended concrete façade. The Warsaw Museum of Modern Art is also the first building in Europe designed by Thomas Phifer, architect, author of numerous museum designs around the world, e.g. the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh in North Carolina, the Glenstone Museum in Potomac in Maryland.

For more information on MSN's current activities, please visit: artmuseum.pl.

Source: capital city of Warsaw