Lemkos, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns, are an ethnic group that has inhabited both the northern and southern slopes of the main ridge of the Carpathians for centuries. The exhibition restores visibility to their artistic heritage, which has remained marginalised in dominant narratives about European art for years. It demonstrates that the art of Lemkos\/Carpatho-Rusyns is not a folkloric curiosity, but a living, autonomous, and multidimensional part of culture \u2014 capable of engaging in dialogue with both the spiritual heritage of the Carpathians and contemporary aesthetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An essential backdrop to this history includes the experiences of forced migrations, assimilation, the Talerhof internment camp, and Operation Vistula. Memories of these traumatic events resurface in the works of artists and in everyday objects originating from Lemko\/Carpatho-Rusyn homes. Within the exhibition space, they become living witnesses of history and symbols of a community’s endurance which \u2014 despite scattering \u2014 has managed to preserve its language, identity, and memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exhibition covers a wide geographical scope \u2014 from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia, through the Czech Republic, Romania, Ukraine, and Croatia, to the diaspora in the United States. In this context, Andy Warhol\u2019s famous words \u201cI\u2019m from nowhere\u201d take on a new significance: they express an identity that endures beyond borders and changing locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The temporary exhibition \u201cForms of Presence. Art of Lemkos\/Carpatho-Rusyns\u201d<\/strong> breaks a long-standing silence, revealing the exclusions embedded in the institutional history of art. By restoring the voice to those who were denied it for decades, it shows that the heritage of Lemkos\/Carpatho-Rusyns does not merely return but persistently endures, despite attempts to erase or assimilate it, as a living element of contemporary culture.<\/p>\n\n\n Milan Bandur\u010din, Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Jozef Bok\u0161aj, Julia Chomka, Mikula\u0161 Dic, Orest Dubay, Epifaniusz Drowniak (Nikifor), Laura Dyczko, Vojtech Erd\u00e9lyi, Myko\u0142aj Fedak, Atanaz Fedinecz, Stefan Hapak, Darjan Hardi, Aleksandra Hry\u0144czuk, A. Jachim\u00f3wna, Maria Janko, Bogdan Kare\u0142, Andrej Andrejevi\u010d Kocka, Julijan Kolesar, Andryj Kopcza, Juraj Kresila, Piotr Krynicki, Teodor Kuziak, Jan \u0141abowski, Maria Maciejczyk, Justyna Maksymczak, Olena Mandi\u0107ova, Jozef Miklo\u0161\u00edk, Dezider Milly, J\u00falius Mu\u0161ka, Jan Mychalak, Dorota Nieznalska, Jerzy Nowosielski, Mychajlo Orysyk, Anna Pa\u0142y\u0144ska, Anna Pec, Grzegorz Pecuch, Paraska P\u0142ytka-Horytstvit, Aleksandra Pola\u0144ska-Hry\u0144czuk, Anna Pyszniak, Michal Rebej, W\u0142adys\u0142aw Rewak, Iwan Rusenko, Ivan \u0160afranko, Michal Sirik, Dmytro Solynko, Andryj Suchorski, Katarzyna Szweda, Joanna \u015apiak-Jad\u0142osz, Stefan Telep, Kamila Trochanowska, Miros\u0142aw Trochanowski, Tyrsus Wenhrynowicz, Julia Warhola, Andy Warhol, Dawid Zdobylak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Micha\u0142 Szymko<\/strong> is an art historian, cultural studies scholar, \u0141emko studies specialist, and Ukrainian studies researcher affiliated with the University of Warsaw. His research interests include \u0141emko\/Rusyn and Ukrainian art, as well as marginalized topics in European art history, particularly the creative output of ethnic minorities. He also works broadly on issues related to the Carpathian ethno-region. Dr. Szymko is the author of scholarly publications and a popularizer of knowledge about Central and Eastern European culture, as well as a curator of exhibitions dedicated to these subjects. For over a decade, he has collaborated with cultural institutions in Warsaw, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Teatr Powszechny, participating in programmatic, research, and organizational projects. His doctoral dissertation focused on the issue of identity in contemporary \u0141emko art, analyzed from the perspectives of memory studies, visual anthropology, and minority studies. He was awarded the Santander Universidades Scholarship for Outstanding Doctoral Candidates in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Director of the State Etnographic Museum in Warsaw<\/strong>: dr Magdalena Wr\u00f3blewska Exhibition from the collections of the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw and the collections of:<\/strong> Thanks for sharing the works to:<\/strong> Andrzeja Starmacha, Very Kolesar, Micha\u0142a Szymko, Very Giricz, Dawida Zdobylaka, Alexandry Bodnarchuk, Darjana Hardiego, Miros\u0142awa Trochanowskiego, Justyny Maksymczak, Piotra Krynickiego, Doroty Nieznalskiej, Katarzyny Szwedy, Kamili Trochanowskiej, Laury Dyczko, Joanny \u015apiak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Media patronage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" About the exhibitions \u201cForms of Presence. Art of Lemkos\/Carpatho-Rusyns\u201d is the first exhibition in history to showcase the artistic achievements of this Carpathian community on such a wide scale. It features both renowned creators \u2014 like Andy Warhol, Epifaniusz Drowniak (Nikifor), and Jerzy Nowosielski \u2014 and artists who have so far been outside the main […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":30765,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31641","wystawy-lista","type-wystawy-lista","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnomuseum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wystawy-lista\/31641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnomuseum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wystawy-lista"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnomuseum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wystawy-lista"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ethnomuseum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wystawy-lista\/31641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31999,"href":"https:\/\/ethnomuseum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wystawy-lista\/31641\/revisions\/31999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnomuseum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnomuseum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nList of artists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
About the curator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
People creating the exhibition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Curator<\/strong>: dr Micha\u0142 Szymko
Project coordinator<\/strong>: Agnieszka Kleszcz
Texts author<\/strong>: dr Micha\u0142 Szymko, prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Stopka, Dorota Nieznalska
Translation<\/strong>: Mateusz Myszka (ENG); Marta Watral, Anna Ma\u015blana (RUE)
Exhibition design<\/strong>: Bart\u0142omiej Buczek ART INDUSTRY STANDARD
Production coordination and logistics: Marta Ancelewska
Visual identification<\/strong>: Beata \u015aliwi\u0144ska Barrakuz
Graphic design and typesetting<\/strong>: Kuba Maria Mazurkiewicz
Copyediting and proofreading<\/strong>: Ma\u0142gorzata Kunecka, Agnieszka Grabowska, Agnieszka Kleszcz, Micha\u0142 G\u0142uszek
Artefact movements<\/strong>: Joanna Szczypa, Anna Zdankiewicz
Conservatorial care<\/strong>: Marcin Burzymowski, Katarzyna G\u00f3rzy\u0144ska, Krystyna Tomasik
Archival material digitisation and movement:<\/strong> Joanna Bartuszek
Accesibility<\/strong>: Justyna Zieniuk, Wielozmys\u0142y
Technical team and organisational assistance:<\/strong> Mariusz Horo\u015b, ART-TRANSPORTER Krzysztof Paw\u0142owski, Bart\u0142omiej Buczek ART INDUSTRY STANDARD
Financial coordination<\/strong>: Kamila Smakulska-Kurek
Accompanying program<\/strong>: Dzia\u0142 Edukacji PME
PR and communication<\/strong>: \u0141ukasz Gackowski, Patrycja Lewandowska, Jakub Nowoci\u0144ski, Marta Matysiak, Przemys\u0142aw Walczak<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SNM – M\u00fazeum rus\u00ednskej kult\u00fary v Pre\u0161ove
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Fedinecz Atan\u00e1z Magyarorsz\u00e1gi Ruszinok K\u00f6z\u00e9rdek\u0171 Muze\u00e1lis Gy\u0171jtem\u00e9nye \u00e9s Ki\u00e1ll\u00edt\u00f3helye
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Paraska P\u0142ytka-Horytsvit’s Photo Archive Preservation Group
Galeria Studio
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Muzeum Sztuki Wsp\u00f3\u0142czesnej w Krakowie MOCAK
Central Gallery in Prague
Lerac Collection<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ethnomuseum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/logo-polityki-2016-1024x255.jpg\"){kind=logo}
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