Jubilee X Conference on Modern Art in Toruń: "Reflections and Transformations. The Artist’s Identity in the Changing Political Reality of the 20th Century", October 21-23, 2025.

- Department of Modern and Non-European Art of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń
- The Polish Institute of World Art Studies
- The Centre of Contemporary Art "Znaki Czasu" in Toruń

Organising committee:
Dr. Katarzyna Cytlak, Dr. Małgorzata Geron, Prof. Jerzy Malinowski, Dr. hab. Filip Pręgowski

The history of the Conferences on Modern Art in Toruń began in 2005. Nine conferences have been organised during the past twenty years, and the tenth, the jubilee conference, is planned for October this year. This broad-ranging scholarly project concentrating on research into modern and contemporary art has from the beginning taken place as a result of cooperation between the Department of Modern and Non-European Art and the Polish Institute of Studies in World Art, the latter of which this year celebrates the 25th anniversary of its activities.

The year 2025 also marks the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, within whose framework the Faculty of Fine Arts was established on the basis of artists who mostly came to Toruń from Vilnius. This change in location was necessitated by the new geopolitical situation obtaining at the time, and demanded that these involuntary emigrants adapt to new realities. With reference to a situation dating from decades ago, as well as to the subjects of the last few conferences, which concentrated on artistic relations between Polish creative artists and artistic circles active in Great Britain and Ireland, Paris, and the United States, we would like to consider problems associated with the artist in relation to his context:

- when he leaves his own milieu as a result of political pressures
- when his art combines elements deriving from various cultures
- whether his creative work depends upon the change in location

Key subjects associated with micro-histories include:
- art as a dialogue between various environments
- migration and creativity – the artist between cultures, languages and experiences
- creation as a process of adaptation – the artist in a changing environment

The organisers invite art historians and critics, cultural anthropologists, exhibition and museum curators and artists to participate in the conference.
The conference languages will be Polish and English.

Please submit titles and abstracts of papers (about half a page of normal text) by September 1, 2025 to the either of the following addresses: mgeronumk.pl or biuroworld-art.pl.

The decision regarding acceptance of proposals will be made by September 20, 2025.

The conference organisers do not anticipate that there will be any fee for attending the conference, and will not cover any costs for travel, board or accommodation.

An outcome of the conference will be the publication of a peer-reviewed scholarly monograph in the series “Studia o sztuce / Studies on modern art”.