We invite you to join an in-depth discussion exploring one of the key themes emerging from the exhibition: the (in)visibility of labour, particularly through the lens of the feminist concept of emotional labour. In the context of the exhibition project, the speakers will take a closer look at rural landscapes and the matriarchal traditions, spaces of nostalgia, imagination, and community associated with them.

One of the exhibition’s constellations focuses on narratives of distance and longing, reflecting an artistic desire to return to personal and family histories connected to rural life. The works gathered within it expand upon questions of social space, agricultural economies, cultural influences, matriarchal traditions, and folklore.

The starting point for this conversation will be the practice of one of the exhibiting artists, Anna Raczyńska, whose work closely maps these themes. Raczyńska transforms and re-establishes a relationship with her roots, where folklore continues to play an important role. A multidisciplinary visual artist born in 1990 in Bielsko-Biała and currently living and working in Berlin, she operates at the intersection of Eastern and Western European experiences. Her work addresses themes of post-communist transformation, power relations, labour and migration, complex cultural identities, and the tensions between capitalism and the historical and social conditions of the region.

In the works presented in the exhibition, the artist reinterprets traditional garments, symbols, and rituals of Slavic culture associated with women’s labour and representation. By juxtaposing them with a contemporary post-industrial aesthetic, she challenges established beliefs and assumptions about women’s roles in society.

Old Habits, New Beginnings is a publication that both summarises Anna Raczyńska’s artistic research to date and serves as a point of departure for new projects, as well as for this discussion accompanying the exhibition at KAF. As the artist notes, “it is not only a form of documentation, but also a visual reflection on the creative process, materiality, visual language, and the political potential of art. It offers a space for considering migration, shifting borders, belonging, and memory in the context of contemporary Europe. It is an open form—a site of exchange and interpretation operating between East and West, art and theory, individual and collective experience.”

The event will also feature Michalina Sablik, curator and collaborator on the publication, and will be moderated by Zuzanna Kowalczyk, writer and editor associated, among others, with Pismo. Magazyn Opinii.

When: Sunday, 28 June 2026, 3:30 pm
Where: Krupa Art Foundation, Rynek 27/28
Tickets: PLN 25 / 35 | Buy your ticket now – admission includes access to the exhibitions.