Bunker. Reading Room of Art: Futurist tourist Maciej Czarnecki in conversation with Julia Dragović

Guest of the next meeting in the Bunkier series. The Art Reading Room will be Maciej Czarnecki — Polish modernist architecture photographer and web creator, author of the book Futurist tourist. How to read, feel and understand Polish modernism. The conversation will be moderated by Julia Dragović.

Modernism in Poland is not only monumental buildings and architectural icons. We all know the Spodek Katowice or the space observatory on Śnieżka. However, few are impressed by the artful interiors of the Technik House in Gdańsk, the colorful frescoes at the bus station in Oleśnica or the colorful mosaic on the facade of the former thread factory in Nowa Sola.

Even less often do we see modernism in the settlements, squares and streets that we walk every day without much thought. Over the decades, it has become so common and obvious that it has almost ceased to be noticed. And yet it co-creates the landscape of our everyday life.

Maciej Czarnecki, a respected photographer and lover of architecture, takes the reader on a journey along the little-known trail of Polish modernism. However, he shows it not as a closed chapter in the history of art, but as a living story about the ambitions, dreams and everyday life of subsequent generations of Poles. It proves that what until now seemed gray and bland to us is a testament to creativity in times of scarcity.

For whom: AdultFree AdmissionRegistration is not required

photo courtesy Maciej Czarnecki/Julia Dragović

Maciej Czarnecki — Polish modernist architecture photographer and web creator, author of projects documenting 20th century modernism in Poland, Europe and Asia. He is primarily concerned with architectural reportage — a documentary view of modernist architecture, taking into account its current and historical context. In particular, it touches broadly understood modernism, and especially its currents such as futurism/space age, brutalism, socimodernism or ship style. A large part of his portfolio is also interior photography. He has participated in individual and collective exhibitions in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. In 2024, he was shortlisted at the World Photography Awards in the Professional: Architecture & Design category.

Julia Dragović — architectural journalist, architectural photographer, online editor of Architecture-MURATOR. For years he has been promoting knowledge of modernist architecture (mainly post-war) and architectural ceramics through social media. He travels, explores, searches — both in the field and in the archives. It is dedicated to saving heritage from the bottom up. He works for the House of Books in Tarnów, working on establishing the achievements and curriculum vitae of the architect Wojciech Pietrzyk.

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