"Joanna Helander. The Possibility of Preservation." Exhibition Opening and Opening Weekend

About the event

On August 28 at 7:00 PM, we invite you to the opening of the exhibition "Joanna Helander. The Possibility of Preservation," and at the same time encourage you to participate in the events accompanying the opening weekend. Joanna Helander is a photographer who not only documents reality but primarily interprets, recognizes, and experiences it. The latest exhibition "The Possibility of Preservation," showcasing her works at the Museum of Literature in Warsaw from August 28 to October 31, 2025, tells the story of how photography becomes a medium of memory – both collective and deeply personal. 📅 Exhibition duration: August 29 – October 31, 2025 At the center of Joanna Helander's interest is the human being: poet, writer, actor, director, but also a witness to history, protest participant, emigrant. Her portraits of Polish creators from the second half of the 20th century, including Stanisław Barańczak, Miron Białoszewski, Ryszard Krynicki, Julian Kornhauser, Adam Zagajewski, Czesław Miłosz, Wisława Szymborska, and members of the Ósmy Dzień Theater group, are not merely a testament to her artistic perspective. Helander did not photograph "cultural objects"; she photographed friends, people close to her ideologically and emotionally. The photographs, combined with letters, documents, fragments of poems, and films, create a multi-layered narrative about the literary Generation '68. A formative moment for these creators was the events of March '68 – a moment of rebellion and social awakening. Helander also participated in the protests that swept the country. She opposed the intervention in Czechoslovakia, for which she was subjected to surveillance and repression, ultimately ending up in prison. Her later emigration to Sweden was not an escape but a political act. By photographing Poland, she photographed a country both close and alien to her. Helander creates images that capture reality in moments of internal tension – between privacy and politics, between the individual and the system, between the present and memory. The exhibition "The Possibility of Preservation" – through personal documents and photographs provided by the artist, as well as various artifacts from the Museum of Literature's collections – will bring viewers closer to Joanna Helander, showcase the specificity of the Polish People's Republic, and allow immersion in the world of literature, theater, and film. As part of the exhibition, diaporamas and films created jointly with Bo Persson (including "Waltz with Miłosz") will also be presented. They will give the exhibition a contemplative dimension and serve as an invitation to attentive reception – listening, watching, experiencing. Joanna Helander's photographs are proof that an artist does not cease to be connected to their country of origin – even if separated by kilometers or borders. This "dual perspective" – as an emigrant and participant in events – makes her works a unique document: both intimate and historical. JOANNA HELANDER Born in 1948 in Ruda Śląska. Photographer, documentary filmmaker, writer, and translator. Renowned documentarian of everyday life in the Polish People's Republic and author of film and photographic portraits of representatives of Polish and Swedish culture. She studied Romance studies at the Jagiellonian University, where in 1968 she participated in opposition activities, opposing the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops in Czechoslovakia. She emigrated to Sweden in 1971, where she completed photography studies. Author of numerous photographic albums, including: "Woman" (1978), "Gerard K. – Letters from Poland" (1986), "If This Polish Woman Were Here with Us" (1999), "Women Are Watching" (2019), and "Unknown Station" (2019). Co-creator of award-winning documentary films, including: "Ósmy Dzień Theater" (1992), "Returns" (1994), "Waltz with Miłosz" (2011), "Watching the Moon at Night – on Terrorism and Anti-Semitism" (2016). She lives and works in Gothenburg, often staying in Krakow. BO PERSSON Swedish film and theater director. He spent many years in Rome and Paris, where he studied philosophy, anthropology, and film studies. He is the author of numerous theater plays and film scripts. Since the early 1970s, he has been interested in Central Europe, and his artistic projects focus on the conflict between man and the state and the memory of societies governed by totalitarian regimes. In 1987, Bo Persson and Joanna Helander founded the independent film studio Kino Koszyk based in Gothenburg. Their creative documentary films premiered in cinemas in Sweden and many other countries. He lives and works in Stockholm. CURATORS: Sonia Jaszczyńska, Olga Wiktoria Wybodowska 📅 OPENING WEEKEND - August 30, 2025 (Saturday), 3:00 PM – guided tour by Joanna Helander and Bo Persson - August 31, 2025 (Sunday), 2:00 PM – guided tour by Sonia Jaszczyńska and Olga Wiktoria Wybodowska 💰 From August 29 to 31, admission to the exhibition costs one złoty. The Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature is funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Mazovian Voivodeship Government.