Tęcza (, meaning "rainbow") was an artistic construction in the form of a giant rainbow made of artificial flowers erected on the Savior Square (''Plac Zbawiciela'') in the Polish capital of

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 ...

in the summer of 2012. It was designed by and maintained by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. It was vandalized several times, generating significant media coverage in Polish media, usually in the context of

LGBT rights in Poland Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Poland face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT residents. According to ILGA-Europe's 2022 report, the status of LGBTQ rights in Poland is the worst among European Union countries. Bo ...

. The construction was permanently removed in August 2015.

History

This installation is the third in a series of similar installations created; the second one was featured in front of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

from 8 September 2011 during the Polish presidency of the European Union. The Warsaw Tęcza was based on the Brussels one, which was moved to Warsaw on 8 June 2012. For this project, Wójcik received the

Paszport Polityki Paszport Polityki (Polityka's Passport) is an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine ''Polityka'' since 1993. It is presented in six major categories: literature, film, theatre, classical music, popular music, visual art ...

award. The installation was supposed to evoke positive feelings related to the rainbow, such as love, peace and hope, and was intended to be a universal, apolitical symbol. However, far-right

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

and

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groups identified it with the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recogniz ...

, a symbol of the LGBT movement. During the night of 26–27 August 2015, the construction for holding flowers was officially and permanently dismantled. Three years later, on 9 June 2018, a new water and light-based installation was unveiled, but it was active only for a few hours for the 2018

Parada Równości Equality Parade ( pl, Parada Równości) is an LGBT community pride parade held in Warsaw since 2001, usually in May or June. It has attracted at least several thousand attendees each year; 20,000 attendees (the largest number of any year prio ...

event.

Vandalism and controversies

As the rainbow symbol is also associated with the LGBT movement, and because it contains six colors just like the LGBT flag, the Tęcza in the Savior Square in Warsaw proved controversial, in part because it was placed in front of a church. The installation was damaged five times as of November 2013, with the usual method of vandalism being arson. The installation was damaged on 13 September 2012; on 1 January 2013 (ruled to be accidental fireworks damage) and again three days later on 4 January; in July 2013; and once again during marches on Polish Independence Day on 11 November 2013. The November 2013 incident occurred in the background of a wider riot by right-wing nationalists, who clashed with police and vandalized other parts of the city as well, also attacking the

Russian embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...

. On 7 December 2014, the rainbow was set on fire by an unknown man just before 01:30. The flames were put out quickly by a police officer. The man who lit the fire was not apprehended. The installation was criticized by conservative and right-wing figures. Law and Justice politician Bartosz Kownacki derogatorily called the installation a "faggot rainbow" (''pedalska tęcza''). Another Law and Justice politician, Stanisław Pięta, complained that the "hideous rainbow had hurt the feelings of believers" attending the nearby Church of the Holiest Saviour. Priest Tadeusz Rydzyk, of

Radio Maryja Radio Maryja is a religious and political socially conservative Polish radio station. It was founded in Toruń, Poland, on 9 December 1991, by the Redemptorist Tadeusz Rydzyk. The name "Maryja" is a traditional Polish form of the name "Mary" ...

fame, described it as a "symbol of deviancy".

References

External links

The Rainbow - Julita Wójcik

Julita Wójcik's Rainbow Vandalised in Warsaw
culture.pl, 13.10.2012 * Hanna Kozłowska

Warsaw Journal, reprinted in New York Times, March 21, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:TEcza (Warsaw) Buildings and structures in Warsaw Culture in Warsaw 2012 establishments in Poland Controversies in Poland 2012 controversies 2013 controversies LGBT culture in Poland Vandalized works of art Former buildings and structures in Poland 2015 disestablishments in Poland Rainbows in art Homophobia LGBT-related controversies in art

History

Vandalism and controversies

See also

References

External links