Zachęta is one of my favorite places on the cultural map of Warsaw. First of all, I appreciate it for the artistic choices of the curators and the wide range of high-quality cultural events accompanying the exhibitions. I also like the Zachęta building itself, its atmosphere and contrast: contemporary art is presented in classic interiors. It is a place where it is appropriate, and often just worth visiting.
Can Zachęta be visited with young children? Parents with babies are certainly welcome – I have checked it many times. There is a lift to each level of the Gallery. We can travel with a pram in all exhibition rooms, but it is also possible to leave the pram by the cloakroom (without a child, of course).
On level -1 there is a Mother’s and Baby’s Corner, where you can feed and change your baby. It is arranged in a small, dark, open recess and unfortunately it is difficult to call it cozy. There is a sofa, a table and a changing table suspended on the wall, but using it requires a lot of acrobatics skills, because the ceiling in this place is relatively low.
A visit to Zachęta with slightly older children who consciously perceive the world and emotionally react to art is worth considering and planning. A lot depends on the exhibition, but also on the age and sensitivity of the child. I did not dare to take my preschoolers to the disturbing exhibition of Maria Lassnig’s works, but recently they had a great time in Maria Anto’s “Wonderland” and were delighted with Sarkis’ light installations (current exhibitions). Exhibitions such as “Wealth” and “Travelers” (both took place in 2016) became a starting point for me and my children for important and difficult conversations, not only about art. A real hit for us was the exhibition “Here or there” from 2016, devoted to contemporary Polish illustration for children, arranged as a large book playground. We visited her with the children several times, each time having a great time.
What else does Zachęta encourage? An educational offer for children and adults, including workshops, lectures, curatorial and author’s tours, meetings with artists, and film screenings. A separate workshop proposal is addressed to kindergartens and schools, there are also classes for families with children with autism spectrum disorders. On the website of Zachęta, we read: “Contemporary art teaches you to experiment, to think boldly and not based on patterns. We invite children and teenagers to express their opinion on the current exhibitions. With them in mind, we create a program of workshops adapted to the age of the participants, their needs and perceptual and cognitive abilities “.
We have checked and sincerely recommend family workshops, held cyclically for two age groups (4-6 and 7-10 years old). They are based on a fixed scenario: visiting the current exhibition in the company of educators and performing art works jointly by parents and children. During the classes, you can talk openly about the impressions of the exhibition, and then give free rein to your artistic expression. My children often play “making Zachęta” at home – they create various art works and present them at exhibitions. This is probably the best recommendation and proof of how inspiring these classes are 🙂
See Zachęta’s showcase at Zmalucha.pl
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The Parent in the City Foundation visits, checks and promotes places friendly to families with young children as part of the zmaluchy.pl project. They include Warsaw museums, such as the Center for Contemporary Art (see HERE), the National Museum (see HERE), the Zachęta National Gallery of Art (see HERE), the POLIN Museum (see HERE), Łazienki Królewskie (see HERE) and the Muzeum Station (see HERE).
We are pleased to support and patronize the #muzealniaki campaign, and we encourage parents to actively participate in it!
You can read more about the action HERE.
Joanna Barczuk