Contemporary Lynx Ltd is a publisher and an arts organisation founded by art historians Dobromiła Błaszczyk and Sylwia Krasoń in 2013. Registered in the UK, now its headquarters are in London, Warsaw, and Paris. The prime mission was to encourage an appreciation and understanding of Polish contemporary art by a wide audience. Since then, the organisation has grown and evolved. Today, our mission is to support the creative community from CEE countries with the core activity of publishing two art magazines:

  • Online Weekly – an online magazine with a focus on Polish and Central European art;
  • Contemporary Lynx Magazine in Print with curated content on the latest trends in the international visual arts, design, photography, and collecting.

 

The publishing activity is complemented by a rich and ongoing educational and artistic programme (art prize, panel discussions, art events, and the Lynx Academy) organised in collaboration with partners from various locations in Europe. Contemporary Lynx Limited is registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee no. 8858901 in England and Wales.

Why do we call ourselves Contemporary Lynx?

Lynx is a medium-sized wildcat considered an elusive and mysterious creature with exceptional eyesight. Lynx means:

  • to be constantly on the lookout for new and emerging artists;
  • to have a sharp eye for talent;
  • to hunt for news on the art scene with precision and a keen eye for detail;
  • to shed light on the best CEE contemporary art;
  • to be the first to share information on this exciting and vibrant art scene.

Our Core: Magazines

We redefine the way we see contemporary art. Magazine in Print has established a reputation for its unique covers, interviews with influential artists, and curated content. Online Weekly is one of the leading websites on Polish and CEE art that has reached over 1.5 million readers in 201 countries.

Online Weekly

Contemporary Lynx Online Weekly remains the foreigner’s ultimate guide to contemporary art and culture from Poland and Central European countries. It delivers a weekly dose of articles on art, design, photography, films, and collecting. Our international team of contributors provides a unique perspective on visual culture from the region by commenting on current exhibitions, art festivals, and art fairs. The team also publishes interviews with artists, designers, and photographers on their practices. Online Weekly features events and exhibitions of CEE artists displayed around the world. Online Weekly writes about artists’ experience on art residencies, conversations with art collectors, curators, and cultural practitioners.

Print Issue

Contemporary Lynx Magazine in Print is an international and independent publication for art, design, collecting, and photography on visual culture. With specially commissioned artworks, bespoke covers, and specific themes, it includes interviews with key figures in the art world and a range of insightful essays that debate current trends in the arts. Since 2015, the issues are published biannually on premium paper; each beautifully crafted edition is a collector’s item. Magazine in Print is available in Europe, Asia, and the US. It can be found at Tate Modern, the Henry Moore Foundation, and 18 art fairs worldwide, including Art Basel (Basel, Miami, Hong Kong), or the Frieze Art Fair (London, New York, and Los Angeles).

Empowering Artists

We redefine the way we see art education and artistic career today. We work closely with visual artists to empower and support them by co-organising Allegro Prize with the cash awards, providing tailor-made workshops and mentoring sessions, and selecting top talents to co-create print magazines.

Art Prize

Leading award for international artists

We co-organise the annual international Art Prize in partnership with Allegro, the largest Polish e-commerce platform, which has been promoting antiques and art since 2018. The aim is to discover new talents, support them financially, and present their work on an unprecedented scale. Allegro Prize is addressed to visual artists of all disciplines and from any country—art students, graduates, and even those who have not attended an art school but have documentation of their work. The cash prize pool is 80 000 PLN. In the competition, there is also the Audience Award. A prestigious jury, consisting of artists, curators, and collectors, selects 3 winners and 10 shortlists.

"Break My Art", PURO Łódź, 2019

Education

Sharing know-how & experience

It all started with the question, “Why are so many talented artists overlooked by the art world?” That is how the Lynx Academy was born. The Lynx Academy is an umbrella project where we address challenges in the creative industry and support creatives in their careers. Since 2018, we have delivered more than 50 workshops sharing know-how from the publishing industry. Since 2020, we have been running mentoring sessions for artists and arts academy staff members on exhibition planning, portfolio reviews, and more. We collaborated with the Arts Council of England, Arts Academy in Wrocław and more.

Collaboration

Inspiring talents to take on new challenges

We work closely with emerging and established artists, talented illustrators, awarded graphic designers, photographers, and art writers to present their work to a wide audience. We search for creativity and authenticity. Thanks to many talented individuals, the printed matter is made with and for art creatives in the true spirit of slow-publishing. The covers, special inserts, photoshoots, illustrations, comics, and engaging articles are the unique magazines’ features that make them the collectors’ items. Our international team of contributors delivers in-depth articles in a thought-provoking and stimulating way.

Empowering Arts Community

We rethink the way we bring together the arts community. We would like to be closer to our readers via further activities beyond the Internet. Let’s meet during debates, art events, and art fairs organised by our team in collaboration with partners, happening in various locations throughout the year.

Debates

At our debates, together with artists, curators, art and market experts, we discuss current issues in the fields of collecting art, new waves in photography, publishing indie magazines, culture sponsorship, and the art market. We organised the debates in collaboration with the Polish Embassy in London, Polish Culture Institute in London, Kunstquartier Bethanien in Berlin, Warsaw Gallery Weekend, Fitzrovia Gallery in London, Puro Hotels, and more.

Artistic events

We organise artistic events to celebrate the publication of new print issues with our readers. We invite artists and DJs. There were such events as a magazine launch at Calvert 22 Foundation in London, an artistic performance at the TRAFO in Szczecin, a set of art events during the Hackney WickED Festival in London, a sensory experience evening at the Romanian Culture Institute in London, and live drawing at the Salon Zimowy in Warsaw.

Fairs

Every year, we introduce artists featured in our print magazine at the most prestigious art fairs around the world. We participate in the solo and collected press stands at Art Basel (Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong), Frieze (London, NYC, LA), Art Brussels, Artissima, LISTE Basel, viennacontemporary, ArtVilnius, and Contemporary Istanbul. We partake in Art Book Fair at the Whitechapel Gallery and Sotheby’s Institute of Art Careers Fair in London.

Media partnership

Every year, as a media partner, we support around 15 art fairs and ci. 40 art festivals, exhibitions, and art prizes. We link with prestigious cultural institutions, both public and private. We were the media partner of Art Basel, viennacontemporary, Brussels Art Week, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Camerimage, Hackney WickED Festival, Łódź Design Festival, Blok Design Fair in Prague, Zachęta National Gallery in Warsaw, RIBOCA - Riga Biennal.