Can contemporary art serve as a tool for reimagining the world we want to build? The nationwide Hestia Artistic Journey Grant Programme (Artystyczna Podróż Hestii) is designed for cultural institutions and artists planning exhibitions that reflect on our shared responsibility for the world we live in. The initiative supports projects that aim to deepen public understanding of social and environmental change, while also engaging local communities.
Applicants were required to submit a comprehensive exhibition concept, including a project description, timeline, alignment with the program’s mission, details of the curatorial team and participating artists, and an outline of accompanying educational activities. Under the theme Opening Time (Czas otwarcia), a strong emphasis was placed on projects that promote inclusivity and raise awareness of global challenges through art.
At the end of January 2025, the winners of the second edition were announced. Throughout the year, seven artistic projects will receive funding and support.
Snutka łączy – Agnieszka Grygiel
SOSW dla Dzieci Niewidomych in Owińska
April 7 – June 30, 2025
Snutka golińska is a type of embroidery practised in Golina (near Jarocin) since at least the mid-19th century. Although it does not pretend to be anything else, snutka golińska looks like lace. It is not lace, though. The craft requires a commitment from many people and care to continue to find those willing to practice it.
In the project Snutka łączy (Snutka connects), visual artist Agnieszka Grygiel decides to do something different. This exhibition seems to grow out of a reflection on what good can be done thanks to snutka. The answer found by the artist is as non-obvious as it is uplifting. Just as thread weaves connect decorative motifs, so the weaving can have the power to connect individual people. The project, with its educational component, is aimed at children at the Centre for Blind Children in Owińska. The children will not only learn an important craft technique but will also be able to share their experiences with non-disabled children. Snutka will bring together people who might never have met.
Jaszczurka zwiastuje krótkotrwałe szczęście – Małgorzata Rittersschild
Fundacja Arton, Warsaw
June 27 – September 14, 2025
The exhibition Lizard Symbolises a Short-lived Happiness at the Arton Foundation is the fourth presentation of the artist’s work. In this artistic and life story lies the optimism that Rittersschild herself has forged. In 2018, she returned to painting and full creative work. A comeback after so many years could be considered a thing worth commemorating. Perhaps we are standing on the threshold of restoring the painter’s persona to art history, in which the exhibition at Arton could make a decisive contribution.
Ciepło-zimno – Wojtek Skibicki and Konrad Smoleński
Fundacja Kraina, Warsaw
October 10 – December 10, 2025
Artists Wojtek Skibicki and Konrad Smoleński explore the often-overlooked issue of urban homelessness by focusing on its invisible dimensions. Ciepło-zimno (Warm-cold) highlights how people in crisis often hide in dumpsters, abandoned buildings, or parks – living lives just meters away from us, yet rarely seen.
Using thermal imaging technology, the artists capture traces of body heat, turning them into both a metaphor for social invisibility and a reminder of our shared humanity. Combining Skibicki’s work with homeless communities and Smoleński’s expertise in immersive installations, merging social commitment with experimental media, the result is an artistic gesture that brings together worlds that are close in space, yet distant in understanding.
Tkająca inteligencja – Agnieszka Pilat
Museum of Textiles, Łódź
October 18 – November 30, 2025
Agnieszka Pilat’s Tkająca inteligencja (Weaving Intelligence) is a bold fusion of art, technology, and human introspection, exploring the evolving relationship between humans and machines, with a focus on artificial intelligence.
Pilat, known for her interdisciplinary approach, blurs the lines between media, creating immersive installations using robots and advanced algorithms. Her works function as experimental spaces where science, art, and speculative futures intersect. But the exhibition is also an invitation to reflect – on technology, the nature of art, and the future we are collectively shaping. Pilat prompts visitors to question not only where we are headed, but also what it means to be human in a world increasingly shaped by intelligent machines.
Ukryte parametry
Stowarzyszenie Nów. Nowe Rzemiosło, Wrocław
October 24, 2025 – February 15, 2026
The exhibition Ukryte parametry (Hidden Parameters) emerges from a desire to build a creative community where artists and viewers connect through the shared knowledge of making, rooted in personal experience with materials such as wood, glass, textiles, and ceramics.
The title refers to the subtle, often overlooked elements that shape our relationship with the world. Artists and audiences are invited to engage with ideas that lie at the intersection of human experience and the natural environment, drawing inspiration from plants, animals, and even spiritual traditions as they imagine new futures.
Przepraszam za bałagan – Michalina Bigaj
Wawel Royal Castle, Kraków
May 5 – June 28, 2026
Presented at the historic Wawel Castle, Przepraszam za bałagan (Sorry for the Mess) delves into the ecological consequences of our food choices and asks pressing questions about our responsibility for the planet’s future. Michalina Bigaj’s project is a striking artistic intervention addressing the urgent issue of culinary extinction – the disappearing diversity of edible species.
The title carries a double meaning: it’s both an apology for the state of the world and a critique of our consumerist lifestyle that contributes to species loss. Inspired by Lenore Newman’s research, Bigaj creates a visual narrative of endangered foods – species we’ve already consumed into scarcity or are close to losing, and highlights lesser-known, wild, and overlooked plants that may offer paths forward. The exhibition stands as a memorable and thought-provoking experience – one that leaves viewers with a deeper sense of ecological accountability.
Migotliwość synaps: neuroróżnorodne doświadczanie świata
Trafostacja, Szczecin
April 1 – June 1, 2026
How does a neurodivergent brain develop and function? How does neurodivergence shape perception, interaction, and presence in the world? These are just some of the questions explored by the artists and thinkers involved, encouraging visitors to reflect and form their own insights. The exhibition Migotliwość synaps (The Flicker of Synapses) and its accompanying educational program aim to celebrate neurodiversity through the lens of art. In public discourse, neurodiversity is often viewed through a medicalised perspective. This project invites a shift – from fixing to understanding, from judgment to curiosity.By promoting a more inclusive view of neurodiversity, Migotliwość synaps fosters empathy and recognition. It reminds us that deeper understanding often leads to natural acceptance – and that art can be a powerful tool for opening minds.
