Galeria Bielska BWA is a municipal art gallery of

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, dedicated to the

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

. It carries out exhibition, publishing, documentary and educational activities. It is the organiser of the

Painting Biennale Bielsko Autumn Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

(''Bielska Jesień'') and the Bielsko-Biała Visual Arts Festival (''Bielski Festiwal Sztuk Wizualnych''). The main seat of the gallery is the building at 11, 3 Maja Street. It was built in 1960 as the Pavilion of the Visual Artists (''Pawilon Plastyków'') in the place of the

Bielsko Synagogue Bielsko Synagogue was a synagogue in Bielsko, Poland. It was built in 1879–1881, designed by Karol Korn. The synagogue was completely destroyed by Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism ( ...

destroyed by Nazis. The Pavillion hosted exhibitions of the local branch of the

Association of Polish Artists and Designers The Association of Polish Artists and Designers (, ZPAP) is an official association of professional artists in Poland, representing more than 8,500 learned artists working in the field of visual arts, including: painting, sculpture, graphic design, ...

. Between 1970 and 1975, it housed a branch of the Katowice Art Exhibition Office (''Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych'', abbreviated as ''BWA''), which was transformed into an independent institution after the establishment of the

Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

. In 1989, the building was expanded to its present form, with a second floor with a new exhibition hall (currently there are two with a total area of 400 m²), a café with a glass corner elevation (currently the Aquarium clubhouse), new offices and warehouses. In 1994, the facility was taken over by the local government of Bielsko-Biała and was given its current name. Since 2020, the gallery has also used rooms in the historic villa of Theodor Sixt (at 24 Mickiewicza Street), where e.g. an exhibition of selected works from the permanent collection is presented, which totals (as of January 2022) 1,073 works.

References

External links

Official website of the gallery
{{Coord, 49, 49, 29, N, 19, 2, 40.5, E, source:plwiki_region:PL_type:landmark, display=title Art museums and galleries in Poland Buildings and structures in Bielsko-Biała Museums in Silesian Voivodeship