Izabella Cywińska
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Maria Izabella Cywińska-Michałowska (25 March 1935 – 23 December 2023) was a Polish theatre and film director and film critic. She was the director of the Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre in
Kalisz Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...
(1970–1973), the director of the New Theatre in
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
(1973–1989) and, later, the artistic director of the
Ateneum Theatre The Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw () is a Polish dramatic theatre founded in 1928. It resides in a building erected a year earlier in the interwar Poland as headquarters for the Professional Union of PKP Railway Workers with offices upstairs. Afte ...
in Warsaw (2008–2011). In the years 1989–1991 she served as the Polish Minister of Culture and Art.


Early life and education

Izabella Cywińska was born on 25 March 1935 in Lviv, and raised in Kamień Puławski. Her paternal ancestors used the Puchała coat of arms. She studied
ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
at the
University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...
, as well as directing at the National Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw.


Career

Cywińska worked as a theatre director at theaters in
Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...
, Warsaw and
Nowa Huta Nowa Huta (, literally "The New Ironworks") is the easternmost district of Kraków, Poland. With more than 200,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous areas of the city. Until 1990, the neighbouring districts were considered expansions o ...
. In the years 1970–1973 she was the director of the Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre in Kalisz. In 1973, she reactivated the New Theatre in Poznań, which she managed until 1989. In 1981, she staged the play ''Oskarżony: czerwiec pięćdziesiąt sześć'' there. As a consequence, she was interned for several months during the period of
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
(Włodzimierz Braniecki was the co-author of the screenplay). In 2008, after the death of Gustaw Holoubek, she took over the duties of the artistic director at the
Ateneum Theatre The Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw () is a Polish dramatic theatre founded in 1928. It resides in a building erected a year earlier in the interwar Poland as headquarters for the Professional Union of PKP Railway Workers with offices upstairs. Afte ...
in Warsaw. She held this position until July 2011. As a director, she directed Television Theatre plays and film productions (the series '' Boża podszewka'' in 1997 and 2004, the films ''Kochankowie z Marony'', ''Cud purymowy''). From 12 September 1989 to 12 January 1991, she served as Minister of Culture and Art in the
Cabinet of Tadeusz Mazowiecki The Cabinet of Tadeusz Mazowiecki, led by Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, came to power following the 1989 legislative election. He was nominated by the President as the Prime Minister on 24 August 1989 in order to form a new government after ...
. In 2005, she signed a declaration of support for the Democratic Party, she was also one of the co-authors of its culture program. She was a member of Bronisław Komorowski's support committee before the presidential elections in 2010 and in
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
. She became a member of the Support Committee of the
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews () is a museum on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The Hebrew word ''Polin'' in the museum's English name means either "Poland" or "rest here" and relates to a legend about the arrival of the firs ...
in Warsaw. In 2011, she was decorated with the Officer's Cross of the
Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...
.


Personal life and death

Cywińska was married to actor Janusz Michałowski. She wrote a memoir called ''Nagłe zastępstwo. Z dziennika pani minister''. She also published a diary ''Dziewczyna z Kamienia''. Izabella Cywińska died on 23 December 2023, at the age of 88.Izabella Cywińska nie żyje


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cywinska, Izabella 1935 births 2023 deaths Culture ministers of Poland Women government ministers of Poland Polish film directors Polish theatre directors Polish women film directors University of Warsaw alumni Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw alumni Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis