Exhibition opening: "Gifts of Friendship"

The Gifts of Friendship exhibition presents nearly 150 works donated to the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź collections in 2024–26 by nearly 80 artists from dozens of countries. Their gesture invites reflection on the significance of artistic solidarity in the contemporary world and on the relationship between the artistic community and the public museum. It underscores the role of trust, friendship, and community, rooted in long-term collaboration, as forces shaping institutional collections.

Since its founding, Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź has developed its collection through close collaboration with artists. Its foundation was the International Collection of Modern Art, composed of donations and initiated by Władysław Strzemiński, Katarzyna Kobro, and other members of the “a.r.” group, first exhibited in 1931.

The exhibition Gifts of Friendship pays tribute to successive generations of artists working in a spirit of shared responsibility for the public role of art. This long-term project reexamines and reactivates a historical model, demonstrating how acts of solidarity and donation continue to shape the museum’s identity.

The opening will take place with the participation of representatives of public institutions, including Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage Marta Cienkowska and Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship Joanna Skrzydlewska, as well as the management and staff of Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, invited artist-donors, and friends of the museum.

After the official opening, we invite you to explore part of the exhibition presented at ms² (19 Ogrodowa St.) and then to walk to ms¹ (43 Gdańska St.), where the main part of the exhibition is located across two floors. We encourage you to experience the exhibition as a whole, unfolding across different spaces and contexts.

The presentation at ms¹ focuses primarily on interpretations of the avant-garde heritage in relation to the Neoplastic Room (3rd floor), as well as on collecting and mutuality as carriers of memory and identity, in dialogue with the former palace interiors (6th floor). The works presented at ms² (ground floor) offer a vision of the present and the future in relation to the museum’s permanent collection, The Ways of Seeing.

Opening Programme:

• 6:00 PM – Opening at ms² (19 Ogrodowa St.)
• Official remarks with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship, as well as invited artist-donors
• Viewing of the exhibition at ms²
• Walk to ms¹ (43 Gdańska St.) and continue viewing the main part of the exhibition

After the visit, we invite you to relax and continue conversations on the first floor at FAVE Café, the opening’s partner.

Opening Partners:
Puro Hotel, ROMA Restaurant, FAVE Café