Does the Artist Work Too? Exhibition at Bunkier Sztuki in Krakow

At the exhibition “Thank you for my work,” which opened in January at Bunkier Sztuki, we are greeted by a reproduction of Monika Drożyńska’s embroidered slogan: “Artistic labour is labour.” Drożyńska is just one of many figures in the Polish art world who have recently drawn public attention to the precarious economic situation faced by artists.

What do you do if you’ve finally been given the chance to have your own exhibition, but the pay is just five hundred zlotys? Or if the gallery offers to cover only the cost of transporting your works, ignoring the production cost? Is the creative act actually work at all, or rather a pleasure and a way to give free rein to one’s inspiration? These and many other questions are raised by the exhibition at Bunkier Sztuki.

As we learn from the exhibition description, the previous year brought positive changes in terms of creative working conditions.

In 2025, the Citizens’ Forum for Contemporary Art (OFSW) drew up the "New Agreement on Minimum Fees for Artists."

This document sets out the rules for remunerating artists for their participation in exhibitions and other forms of creative activity. In practice, this means the introduction of a basic remuneration rate at the level of the minimum wage. The first institutions to adopt the New Agreement were Trafostacja Sztuki in Szczecin, BWA Wrocław and the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw.

The curator of the exhibition “Thank you for my work” is Zofia Małysa-Janczy. Among the artists participating in the exhibition are both names with whom the curator has previously collaborated – including Ala Savashevich, Tomasz Kręcicki, Iza Tarasewicz and Kornel Janczy – as well as canonical figures associated with the institutional critique movement, such as Andrea Fraser. The exhibition runs until 26 April 2026.