The MODEERN FREEDOM exhibition at the Pilecki Institute NYC is now open! - Instytut Pileckiego
22.05.2026 (Fri)
The MODEERN FREEDOM exhibition at the Pilecki Institute NYC is now open!
The largest group presentation of Polish contemporary art in New York since MoMA’s legendary “Fifteen Polish Painters” exhibition in 1961.
Yesterday evening, Pilecki Institute USA opened “MODEERN FREEDOM” in Lower Manhattan — major exhibition of art from Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, bringing together established artists and younger voices whose works engage with memory, history, totalitarian experience, democracy, and the meaning of freedom today.
The exhibition gathers artists from Poland and across Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Georgia, Belarus, the Baltic states, the Balkans, and beyond. Together, their works form a broad, multi-generational perspective on a region shaped by war, political violence, censorship, resistance, transformation, and the ongoing search for human dignity.
It was an important evening for our institution, our partners, the artists, the curators, and everyone who helped bring this project to New York.
Thank you to all guests who joined us for the opening reception and shared this moment with us. Your presence made the evening truly special.
We are grateful to the artists, curators, partners, team members, and friends of the Institute whose work, trust, and commitment made this exhibition possible.
Curated by Piotr Franaszek, Tomáš Koudela, and Wojtek Radtke.
“MODEERN FREEDOM” is now open and on view through August 31, 2026.
Pilecki Institute USA
92 Greenwich Street, Lower Manhattan, New York
Photos: Wojtek Kubik
Co-financed by the Polish National Foundation.
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