Zachęta na Ochotę / A Possible Future? - open discussion about the Imagination in Times of Crisis.
When: 11.12.2025, 18.00-20.00
Where: Galeria Zachęta, Sala wystawowa numer 13 (parter)
“Zachęta na Ochotę” is an event emerging from the scope of "A Possible Future?". We occupy Hall 13 to open the laboratory—like strange scientists or alchemists revealing their secret process—for this 11th encounter at Zachęta. We will share insights from the 10-session lab “Imagination in Times of Crisis” and the work it generated.
The 14+2 artists involved will discuss their inquiries and offer a glimpse into the pieces forged from their shared journey. The event will culminate in a participatory moment, inviting visitors to contribute directly to the ongoing creation and reaffirming the project's core belief in imagination as a vital form of collective praxis.
Artists/participants:
Paulina Szczęsna,Katarzyna Pawłowska,Magdalena Walusiak, Agnieszka Karpińska, Michalina Pasierbska, Łukasz Adamus, Antonina Dukowicz, Weronika Banach, Weronika Jankowska, Grzesiek Dzięgielewski, Weronika Banul, Lizaveta Dubinchina, Karol Wójcicki, Justyna Otwinowska
Lab coordinators/curators:
Natalia Lis, Pavel Tavares.
A Possible Future? - Imagination in times of crisis: a collective multimedia installation
“A Possible Future?" is a multimedia installation that emerges from a collaborative laboratory, hosted by the Zachęta National Gallery of Art and organized by Strefa Wolnosłowa.* It presents the work of artists who have engaged in a deep process of speculative inquiry, confronting the crisis of imagination that haunts our contemporary condition. In an era marked by systemic instability and uncertain trajectories, this installation positions artistic practice as a critical methodology for navigating and re-imagining the future.
The project departs from a critical examination of the present. It confronts the anxieties and fragilities of our time not as endpoints, but as catalysts for imaginative investigation. The participating artists were tasked with moving beyond reactive postures to actively speculate on what might emerge from the ruins of the present. Their work collectively challenges the foreclosure of the future, resisting both dystopian cliché and utopian escapism. Instead, the installation delves into the complex and often contradictory space of "the possible," exploring how potential futures are embedded within the material and affective realities of the now.
The resulting installation is a polyphony of artistic propositions. Through a diverse range of media and performances, the artists articulate nuanced visions that grapple with the urgent political, social, and ecological questions of our time. The works do not offer definitive answers or prescriptive solutions. Rather, they function as conceptual tools and aesthetic frameworks that invite the viewer into a process of critical reflection.
"A Possible Future?" is therefore more than a collection of artistic objects; it is an intellectual and sensory environment designed to provoke dialogue. It asserts the vital role of the imagination as a form of political and social praxis—a means by which we may begin to articulate and construct alternatives to a seemingly inevitable future. The installation challenges us to engage with the precariousness of our moment not as a state of paralysis, but as a site of potential transformation.
Artists/participants:
Paulina Szczęsna,Katarzyna Pawłowska,Magdalena Walusiak, Agnieszka Karpińska, Michalina Pasierbska, Łukasz Adamus, Antonina Dukowicz, Weronika Banach, Weronika Jankowska, Grzesiek Dzięgielewski, Weronika Banul, Lizaveta Dubinchina , Karol Wójcicki, Justyna Otwinowska
Lab coordinators/curators:
Natalia Lis, Pavel Tavares.
