Own Language

“Own Language” is the exhibition organised by the artists from Galeria Rusz to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their artistic activity. Galeria Rusz started in August 1999 on a street billboard at Szosa Chełmińska 37 in Toruń. During these 20 years it has come a long way – from a modest artistic experiment aimed at bringing art out of the gallery into the street, to the living Polish classics of public art and street art. These 20 years mean 7000 days with non-stop art and over 500 artistic billboards.

Joanna Górska, the co-founder of Galeria Rusz, explains where the idea for the exhibition summarising the 20-year-long artistic path came from: For an artist, like for every single person, it is extremely important to find his/her own language. We have found our own language – both in life and at work, but it is not definitively shaped as it changes with time, life and the artistic path.

The exhibition consisted of a few parts. Throughout August 2019, new and retrospective works were displayed on 30 citylights and 2 permanent billboards (Szosa Chełmińska and Wały Gen. Sikorskiego) in Toruń. The works were also presented in the public space of Warsaw. Also, 150 works, specially selected from the works of the artists for this occasion, were shown on a multimedia screen for 3 months (August-October) in the Poster Museum in Wilanów.

The official opening of the jubilee exhibition took place on 9 August at 12.00 pm at Pl. Rapackiego in Toruń. For this occasion the artists prepared an 8-metre tall wall documenting the 20 years of their artistic activity. They also invited the audience to take part in the artistic event titled “Language”.

The project was co-financed from the budget of the Municipality of Toruń and the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region.