Ella Pałka: Which exhibitions at Zachęta had the highest attendance levels in 2011?

Anna Tomczak: In 2011, the most popular exhibition was the monographic exhibition by Wolfgang Tillmans. Almost two months before the opening, many journalists had contacted us concerning this show and asked for an interview with the artist who came in person to prepare the installation. In my opinion the main reasons for the show's large success were two-fold. First, Wolfgang Tillmans is a well-known and very important artist who inspired many younger and older artists all over the world and his art can be appreciated not only by specialists but also by the general public. Secondly, photography is a very popular medium in Poland.

"Freischwimmer 93" (2004) by Wolfgang Tillmans Courtesy of Zachęta National Gallery of Art

Have you noticed an increased interest in art at Zachęta recently or is it the same as it was in the past?

Looking at Zachęta's attendance, interest in art is not increasing, it's quite the opposite ...I think it is a consequence of the world crisis - people can't afford to spend money for cultural entertainment in the same way as before. In fact, interest in art is the same as it was in the past. People are interested in modern art and I have the impression that they understand it more, are more open to it or have more awareness of it. I hope it will increase in future, and that is the job of educational institutions like Zachęta.

Curators play an integral role in selecting the artists who exhibit at the gallery and hence can help shape the success by giving exposure to artists. Do you feel that curators at Zachęta are influential in affecting the prices of works of art?

Unfortunately this is how the art world works. Younger curators and their projects try to avoid these mechanisms. Despite that, the value of art shown in Zachęta does reach a higher price later. We have definitely observed that during the sale of works from our own collection.

What is Zachęta doing to promote art in Poland both for Poles and foreigners?

We are trying to plan our exhibitions to show art from Poland and abroad. Our exhibitions are always accompanied by catalogs or folders about the exhibitions, both in Polish and in English. We also have guided tours for our audiences, and events which build a wider context around our shows.

Zachęta is open six days a week with free entrance on Thursdays. All captions, comments and text for the exhibition are translated in English - which is not a common practice in many institutions in Europe.

Do you find that political or controversial art tends to attract the most attention?

Not necessary, political and controversial art used to attract much publicity 10 years ago, but now it is much less discussed. The best proof of that is the exhibition of Goshka Macuga currently showing at Zachęta, which is about scandals in art in the last 20 years. Art now brings much less controversy, because the time for critical art in Poland is now well-known. Our audience has had time to work it out by now and artists' interests now also go in different directions.

What more do you think needs to happen for Polish art/artists to be better represented abroad?

We have very active Polish institutions which should do more to promote younger artists. It would also be great to invite Polish curators for projects abroad from various Polish institutions.

Can you name young Polish artists to watch out for in the future?

Konrad Smolenski a visual and sound artist was recently recognized by Zachęta as the most interesting young artist on the Polish scene. Others include: Honza Zamoyski, who as well as being an artist in the areas of drawing, video art and other mediums, also operates his own publishing house MORAVA; Tymek Borowski whose work focuses on painting graphics and installation works; Dorota Buczkowska who focuses on photography, drawing, graphics, video, painting and sculpture; Bianka Rolando a mixed-media artist and Paweł Sysiak whose work brings together an unusual mix of found items that forms unconventional structures. Other artists well worth mentioning include: Katarzyna Przewańska, Paweł Śliwiński, Mikołaj Dlugosz, Jan Smaga, Grzegorz Drozd and Katarzyna Przewańska.