Polish Global Identity

This book is devoted to reflection about the
politics of national identity as expressed in Poland
in the 1990s by the exhibition program of the
Zach ta National Gallery of Art. The intention is to
see how the concept of national identity associated
with traditional culture was dealt with in the
exhibition practice of Gallery Director Anda
Rottenberg, who gave Zach ta in the 1990s a
preeminently contemporary profile. The goal was to
see whether at the end of the 20th century, in times
of intense globalization and of the unification of
Europe, the notion of national identity can still be
operative, in particular for an institution
dedicated to the promotion and presentation of
contemporary art associated more with negation than
affirmation of the notion of national identity. The
analyses trace changes that the concept of national
identity underwent and describe how its new
understanding is reflected in museum practice.

Autorentext

Malgorzata Lisiewicz - art historian. She received her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago at the Art History Department. Apart from academic work, she worked as a curator and held the position of director of the "Laznia" Center for Contemporary Art in Gdansk, Poland.

Klappentext

This book is devoted to reflection about the politics of national identity as expressed in Poland in the 1990s by the exhibition program of the Zacheta National Gallery of Art. The intention is to see how the concept of national identity associated with traditional culture was dealt with in the exhibition practice of Gallery Director Anda Rottenberg, who gave Zacheta in the 1990s a preeminently contemporary profile. The goal was to see whether at the end of the 20th century, in times of intense globalization and of the unification of Europe, the notion of national identity can still be operative, in particular for an institution dedicated to the promotion and presentation of contemporary art associated more with negation than affirmation of the notion of national identity. The analyses trace changes that the concept of national identity underwent and describe how its new understanding is reflected in museum practice.