The Kosciuszko Foundation is a
charitable foundation
A foundation (also a charitable foundation) is a category of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that typically provides funding and support for other charitable organizations through grants, but may also engage directly in charitable act ...
based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It was created by
Stephen Mizwa Stephen Paul Mizwa, ''Stefan Piotr Mierzwa'' (November 12, 1892, Rakszawa – January, 1971, Houston) was the founder and long-time president of the Kosciuszko Foundation, a Polish-American scholarly and cultural institution headquartered in New Y ...
to fund programs that promote
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
-American intellectual and artistic exchange.
History
The Polish American Scholarship Committee was established in 1923 by Dr.
Stephen Mizwa Stephen Paul Mizwa, ''Stefan Piotr Mierzwa'' (November 12, 1892, Rakszawa – January, 1971, Houston) was the founder and long-time president of the Kosciuszko Foundation, a Polish-American scholarly and cultural institution headquartered in New Y ...
to bring students to universities in the United States. Mizwa worked with the president of
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
, Henry Noble MacCracken, who had visited Poland. The two expanded the Scholarship Committee's mission to promote cultural and educational exchanges between the United States and Poland. In December 1925, the Scholarship Committee changed into the new Kosciuszko Foundation.
![Exhibition the Kosciuszko Foundation - the American Center of Polish Culture Senate of Poland 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Exhibition_the_Kosciuszko_Foundation_-_the_American_Center_of_Polish_Culture_Senate_of_Poland_02.JPG)
The Foundation is named in honour of
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...
, a Polish general and patriot, who after unsuccessful battles in uprising for Polish freedom, migrated to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and fought in
the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. The organization was founded in 1925, on the eve of the 150th anniversary of Kosciuszko's enlistment in the American liberation cause.
The headquarters are in a limestone neo-Renaissance three-story mansion built in 1917. The building was designed by Harry Allan Jacobs for James J. Van Alen, whose in-laws, the
Astors
The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany,
the Astors settled ...
, lived down the block. The second-story ballroom functions as a gallery, as well as a lecture and concert hall for chamber-music and solo recitals.
Activities
The foundation provides scholarships and fellowships to Polish students, scholars, and artists. They were invited for research or educational stay by an institution of higher education in the United States. Several programs are also targeted at Polish musicians. Grants for U.S. citizens include research and study opportunities in Poland.
The foundation organizes cultural events for the Polish community. It is the largest public institution in North America dedicated solely to Polish art. Exhibitions are held that draw from the permanent collection of oils, watercolors, prints, drawings, ceramics, sculpture, tapestries and photographs. An annual Chopin Piano Competition showcases young talent.
NYC Arts, Culture Guide and Calendar
Retrieved on December 2, 2007.
The foundation sponsors and publishes the biggest Polish-American and American-Polish dictionary, known as ''Kosciuszko Foundation Dictionary'' and published in a book and CD-ROM format. The recent version, titled ''New Kosciuszko Foundation Dictionary'', was issued in 2003. Its editor-in-chief was a renowned Polish professor of the English language.
The foundation's Washington office provides a venue for local Polish-American events through a wide range of activities, including films, concerts, exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and seminars. It uses its website to provide information on events, collections and topics of interest to those who interested in Poland.
Regional Chapters
The Kosciuszko Foundation has regional chapters in:
* Buffalo (Western New York State)
* Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, Illinois
* Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Colorado (Rocky Mountain)
* Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
(Texas)
* Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
* Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania
* Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania
* Springfield, Massachusetts (New England)
* Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, 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 ...
* Washington, D.C.
)
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References
External links
The Kosciuszko Foundation website
{{Authority control
Non-profit organizations based in New York City
Educational foundations in the United States
Polish-American culture in New York City
Scholarships in the United States
Polish-American organizations
Arts foundations based in the United States
Organizations established in 1923
1923 establishments in New York City