29 May / Friday
 

Nature in art or art in nature – which do you feel closer to? Spend Friday evening at the museum and discover just how many stories about climate change, habits, beliefs and an interest in the natural world lie hidden within works of art.

Come for an evening at the museum in which we will delve into the topic of our relationship with nature, both today and in times gone by. We will explore a range of ecological practices: there will be book repair workshops, conversations about artworks, a drawing-based creative zone, and a themed quiz with prizes. All of this will unfold to the sound of music and in the relaxed atmosphere of the start of the weekend. We have also prepared some special events to close the evening – read on to find out what we have planned!

Join us! An Evening at the Museum – every last Friday of the month!

 

PROGRAMME

 

5:00pm – 8:00pm

• Creative Zone / Main Hall

How often do you stop to wonder what's rustling in the grass? What does the world of insects, plants and grasses look like – the one we so often walk past without a second glance? Create a drawing with us inspired by this whole microcosm! We’ll be working on biodegradable seed paper, which can later be sown in a garden or a pot – within a few days you can watch it germinate. What will grow from your composition?

 

All the materials are provided – no drawing experience necessary. Let’s get to work!

 

 

• Q&A – Ask About Art / Gallery of Old Masters & Gallery of Polish Design

Looking at artworks created over the centuries, what can they tell us about the relationship between humanity and nature? Join the conversation and shared discovery of stories hidden within art to see how our perception of the natural world has changed over time.

 

THIS EVENT WILL BE HELD IN POLISH ONLY
 

 

• Music Zone with Zoia Mikhailova / Main Hall

Immerse yourself in the experimental soundscapes of Zoia Mikhailova, where field recordings interweave with choral parts and electronics.

 

Zoi Michailova – originally from Crimea, this Ukrainian sound artist, composer and DJ has been living in Warsaw for a decade. She creates music for visual arts, including theatre, performance, video art and installations. In her practice, she explores the relationships between memory, the acoustic landscape and sonic imagination, using field recordings, electronics and her own resonant constructions. A recipient of a City of Warsaw grant, she develops projects focused on sound and its social contexts.

 

 

• Book Repair Workshops / Bookshop

Bring along any books you have in need of repair and see how easy it is to give them a new lease of life! We’ll show you how to reattach loose pages, reinforce a cover, and care for damaged spines. These are basic repairs you can easily carry out at home using materials most of us already have to hand. It will be a wonderful opportunity to pick up some simple tricks and rescue your favourite titles. And if the cover still leaves something to be desired, wrap the book and give it a brand-new, one-of-a-kind look. Give your bookshelf a second chance!

 

• Quiz 

Art – nature – climate change – ecology: put yourself to the test in our quiz and win prizes!

 

THIS EVENT WILL BE HELD IN POLISH ONLY

 

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8:15 pm 

• Naturceare / A Shared Vinyl Listening Session in the Gallery of 19th-Century Art

 

What if you could not only see but also hear the paintings of Józef Chełmoński? Come listen to the record Naturceare, the first vinyl release from the National Museum in Warsaw. The record contains two compositions drawn from Chełmoński’s work, created on special commission from the museum to accompany the monographic exhibition about the painter in 2024.

 

Agata Zemla’s composition what field whispers features trembling, rough string passages and the sounds of a dried-out meadow. The artist, accompanying a string orchestra, plays on an amplified field painting full of grasses and blades that do not merely whisper but resound. In Katarina Gryvul’s Uhtceare (literally, ‘world-weariness at dawn’), one can hear birds stirring to life. Their calls are echoed by the instruments, underpinned by electronics, vocalisations and extended performance techniques. This is a classically conceived yet sonically contemporary piece that evokes a feeling of nostalgia while also inviting one to reflect on solitude and mortality.

 

We will be listening to the record in the Gallery of 19th-Century Art, surrounded by the paintings of Józef Chełmoński. The playback will be on a turntable made by the iconic Polish brand Unitra, whose equipment has earned its rightful place in the Gallery of Polish Design. Krzysztof Pietraszewski, curator of the Naturceare project, will also talk about how the record came to be.

 

Krzysztof Pietraszewski – curator, cultural manager, executive producer and music journalist. Since 2016, he has served as the artistic director of the Sacrum Profanum contemporary music festival. He has collaborated on programming numerous festivals, institutions, radio stations and music magazines across Poland. He currently works with Radio Kraków Kultura, where he hosts the Muzykoteka programme, the RKK Live concert series, and Thursday morning cultural conversations about music.

 

Meet in the Main Hall / event held in the Gallery of 19th-Century Art / tickets priced at 30 and 15 PLN, valid for NMW admission from 5:00pm and entry to the concert, available at the box office and online / approx. 80 min / limited places

 

 

• Biodróż with Michał Książek / A Museum and Nature Walk

 

Can the trees, birds and herbs depicted in Old Master paintings be found in the park next to NMW? It turns out they can. The great tit from the paintings of Jan Brueghel the Elder is a regular resident of the nearby trees, and the tawny owl from the canvases of Abraham Govaerts likely is too. You may also encounter the goldfinch or the wallcreeper, painted by Abraham Mignon. Come join a nature walk during which we’ll search in the field for the living inspirations of the Old Masters and see for ourselves whether these famous painters faithfully portrayed plants, animals and fungi. Or perhaps they took a few liberties?

 

During this ‘bio-journey’ with Michał Książek, we are going to be observing and examining trees, looking under stones, and seeing what’s stirring in the grass. We will learn to identify trees and recognise bird calls. After the session, you’ll be able to spot what aligns with biological reality in the masters’ paintings, and what is stylisation, subjective interpretation, or even error! You’ll see well-known works in a new light, experience them again, and remember them for longer!

 

Michał Książek – naturalist, cultural studies scholar, and author of books, including the recently published Atlas of Holes and Cracks, which received the Warsaw Literary Award. He has developed his own original type of excursion known as a ‘bio-journey’.

 

THIS EVENT WILL BE HELD IN POLISH ONLY

 

 

Meet in the Main Hall / event takes place in the Gallery of Old Art and in the park near the museum / tickets priced at 30 and 15 PLN, valid for NMW admission from 5:00pm and participation in the walk, available at the box office and online from May 19th / approx. 80 min / limited places