Event poster

The Wihajster Foundation, created in November 2011 by Marcin Lewandowski, Kuba Ołdak, Maciek Niemojewski and Piotr Najar, launches its Kalejdoskop series of one-night exhibitions presented in a party setting

 The project is focused on promoting students of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts and other aspiring artists. Kalejdoskop is a series of one-night exhibitions followed by an after-party. Each event features a couple of artists presenting their works while the viewers get to choose the best one. The winners will then compete against each other for the prize being a grant funded by the Wihajster Foundation. The grand finale is to take place in June aboard a barge on the Wisła river, accompanied by a show of photographs and workshops with the artists. The project also strives to bring life to the riverside, moving closer to the utilisation of the area in other areas of Europe like Paris or London.

Marcin Lewandowski, student of Polish Philology  at Warsaw University and manager of the Warsaw-based club Kamieniołomy, explains that he and his cofounders are aware of the difficulties artists face in finding a outlet for their works. The project offers "exhibition space free of charges and without other inconveniencies. We try to find interesting exhibition spaces and collect funds for further promotion". The foundation is also seeking funding from outside institutions, corporations and private sponsors. 

Piotr Najar, DJ, party promoter and student of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź says that what makes the foundation innovative is "complete financial independence", adding that

We assume that the income from the after-party will help us cover the costs of organizing the exhibition. What's more, we bring out the culture to the people instead of isolating ourselves in typical gallery spaces. The artists we promote present something new to the art scene, something fresh and undiscovered, novice, not stuck in the academic scheme.

Featured artists at the Kalejdoskop event on the 10th of February, 2012:

Aleksander Znosko (b.1990) student of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, works in the field of graphic design and photography (author of the ‘Wihajster’ logo and the Foundation’s future visual design). More info: znosko.pl.

Andrzej Santorski (b.1989) a fourth-year student of the Graphic Design Departament at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Along with Kuba Gryżewski he forms the Balloon to the Moon project and recently has also been working with the Leo Burnett Worldwide agency. He works in the fields of graphic design, multimedia, painting and drawing. Santorski participated in numerous group and individual exhibitions. More info: cargocollective.com/andrzejsantorski

Julia Mirny (b.1988) Graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Julia Mirny’s work features duality, a certain scission between grotesque, often grievously ironic and absurd illustrations / drawings and a very introverted, emotional approach to painting. She is a recipient of the President of Sopot Scholarship (2007, 2008) and has received national and international awards, including: Special Award in the international satiric illustration contest 'Satyrykon' in Legnica (2007, 2008) and an honorable mention in a competition organized by the Eryk Lipiński Museum of Caricature in Warsaw. She has been part of group exhibitions, such as the ‘hang-art’ show at the Klima Bocheńska Gallery, an illustration exhibition at the Love & Trade boutique, illustration exhibition at the Klatka Gallery and post-competition Satrykon exhibition throughout Europe. More info: juliamirny.com.

Marcelina Jarnuszkiewicz (b.1987), graduate of the Anthropology Department at the Warsaw University, currently studies Media Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Jarnuszkiewicz has her own clothing line Jarnuszkiewicz / Chylak. More info: jarnuszkiewicz.blogspot.com.

Maciej Jakóbczyk, photographer from Warsaw. More info: www.maciekjakobczyk.com.

Jakub Stanek (b.1988) photographer from Warsaw. More info:stanekjakub.com.

The after-party features: a live music performance by musicians of Sztetl Quartet: Piotr Janiec (Horn), Tomasz Stawiecki-(clarinet) i Radek Polakowski- (accordion/violin); hiphop and soul beatmaker Praktik and Warsaw’s famous dj collective Club Collab (Jedynak, Dizky, Najar)

The exhibition and party takes place at the former Museum of Printing on the corner of Łucka and Żelazna street on the 10th of February, 2012.

For more information on the Wihajster Foundation, see: www.wihajster.org

Source: press release

Thumbnail credit: Kalejdoskop I, photo by Maciej Jakóbczyk