About the Collection

The Art Collection of Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznan (UAP) comprises works of art gifted to the University by the artists teaching there, their inheritors as well as the graduates. It dates back to 1988 when the University acquired an archive belonging to its past rector Prof. Stanisław Teisseyre. It was donated along with a house at the Poznan Citadel and an art collection.

This donation became the foundation of the collection which comprises works of art created from the 1930s up to contemporary times. Still not enough people outside of the academia know about its existence. After all, it constitutes an important record of the artistic life of the Poznan University.

The works of art, which up till now have been kept behind closed doors, are now being brought to the audience. The exhibition is a selection of works which, according to the curatorial team, tell a story about the collection’s past, its present state as well as its future potential.

The University of the Arts is currently preparing exhibition storerooms, which fit into a broader strategy of presenting and popularising the University’s collection. Therefore, this exhibition is also an invitation to join the conversation between UAP’s community and the Gallery’s audiences about the role this collection and the planned investment should play. Poznan is the only city in Poland with a population of over half a million which does not have a modern art gallery. Therefore, these issues are of particular importance for both the artistic community as well as the whole city.