The starting point for the new temporary exhibition at the National Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, was the assumption that the exhibits gathered and presented in ethnographic museums called “folk art” always have two authors, who come from two different social environments. The first one – “a folk artist”, actually makes the object. The other – “an intellectual” hides his role as co-creator under the function of “discovering”. He comes to the countryside and legitimizes the object as folk art. The “two souls of a folk artist” concept (phrase author: Aleksander Jackowski) indicates that folk art is in fact a construct created by urban intelligence. Based on the assumption that for the folk art to exist, it needs the taste from the city and hands from the country, the exhibition focuses on rural artists and their works pointing out the contextualization, which generates their value as art pieces. It also makes a critical contribution to the museum’s self-reflection on the provenance of its collection and its own function in constructing the hierarchy of knowledge and power. Exhibition includes content in Polish, English (in print) and Ukrainian (under QR code) and provides audio description and video guide in Polish sign language. The space of the exhibition was prepared taking into account the needs of people with disabilities and offers designated places for rest. Texts in large font ensure comfortable reading. “Two Souls of a Folk Artist” is open from November 5 until November 9, 2025.
Two Souls of a Folk Artist
