The Museum of Warsaw invites you to an exhibition about a spectacular event in the history of the capital. The exhibition titled "The Summer That Changed Everything. Festival 1955" will be open until the end of the year. 📅 The 5th World Festival of Youth and Students took place from July 31 to August 15, 1955, attracting nearly 170,000 young people from Poland and around the world to Warsaw. Under the slogan "For Peace and Friendship," the festival aimed to showcase the superiority of socialism over capitalism. However, it became a carnival of multiculturalism, anticipating political and social changes, and above all – a generational experience. The exhibition "The Summer That Changed Everything. Festival 1955" tells the story of the event itself and outlines the social and cultural backdrop of the 1950s. Topics covered include: - Social advancement - The construction of socialist Warsaw - The end of socialist realism in art - The significance of public space - The beginnings of decolonization - The "permeability" of the Iron Curtain We showcase archival materials and festival memorabilia such as posters, postcards, scarves, pins, programs, photographs, socialist realist sculptures and paintings, as well as contemporary artworks. At the exhibition, the titular event becomes a starting point for reflection on the mid-1950s. Curatorial team Zofia Rojek and Błażej Brzostek present the preparations and course of the festival in a social, political, and cultural context. Key themes include political thaw, the decolonization of Africa and Asia, the reconstruction of Warsaw, and the public space of the capital. More information about the exhibition: https://muzeumwarszawy.pl
