Exhibition “Mythological Zoo” at the Diplomats’ Gallery

- Setting up a meeting place with Polish graphic arts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was one of the many artistic projects of my husband Mariusz Kazana, former director of the Diplomatic Protocol at the MFA, who believed that art was an important element supporting diplomacy - added Barbara Kazana, President of the Mariusz Kazana Foundation. The foundation was established in 2010 following the tragic death of Mariusz Kazana in the presidential plane crash near Smolensk. The Foundation upholds the memory of Mariusz Kazana, including by continuing projects that he did not manage to implement.

The works included in the exhibition originally illustrated Bestie i potwory mitologii greckiej [Beasts and Monsters in Greek Mythology], a book by Bartłomiej Grzegorz Sala. Several dozen of mythological characters, depicted with artistic liberty by means of risography, show beasts and monsters which play an important role in the stories of gods, demigods, and humans. Błażej Ostoja Lniski's "Mythological Zoo" draws on elements of mass culture, fast fashion, and haute couture, but it also tackles the problems of segregation and discrimination.

The event was organised thanks to the cooperation of MFA's Department of Promotion and Cultural Diplomacy and MFA's Diplomatic Protocol with the Mariusz Kazana Foundation and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. MFA's long-lasting cooperation with the Mariusz Kazana Foundation, covering promotion of Polish and foreign graphic artists, was strengthened in 2024 by signing a trilateral agreement to include the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. - It will surely lead to further joint projects developed in the framework of cultural diplomacy - underlined Piotr Erenfeicht, Deputy Director of the Department of Promotion and Cultural Diplomacy The exhibition preview was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Warsaw and MFA staff. The exhibition will be open until March 2025.

Photo: Sebastian Indra/MFA