Short bio

I graduated from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków in the history of art and have worked as a museum educator. I love museums and my work. I currently work as an education specialist at the Museum of Photography in Kraków, where together with Marta Kudelska, I have developed a new concept for education strategy. What I value most in my work is meeting other people, talking to and interacting with them. I am happy to talk about art.

My story

Being an art history student, I have worked with people developing educational programmes in various museums and art galleries. After graduation, I started working at the Education Department of the National Museum in Kraków.

Ever since that day, I have been unlearning. What do I mean by unlearning? To me, it is constantly asking questions, being open to the public's objections to the museum's activities, a non-dogmatic following of set paths and a willingness to listen to other people's voices. This is a demanding process. It is so mainly because a fundamental skill of an educator is flexibility and responsiveness to the needs of the audience.

I believe that my greatest success has been coming to an understanding that museum staff who have access to specialist knowledge and museum exhibit labels, and who specialise in research into specific collections, cannot believe they possess absolute knowledge, speak indisputable truths, and that only their interpretations are correct. Such a way of thinking would doom me to failure in my professional and, more importantly, personal life. Fortunately, I already gave up such an approach at the start of my career path. And I feel great with about it!

It doesn’t bother me if I don't know the answer to all the questions asked during museum workshops (although I’m constantly trying to improve my knowledge and be as supportive to museum visitors as possible). I also know that every person I meet can be an expert in their field, and certainly someone who I can exchange knowledge and experience with. Together, we can take a fresh look at something we think we know perfectly well and draw attention to an unnoticed detail. I have recently come across a statement about the things we use on a daily basis. And it can also apply to the objects collected in various museums: "The world of everyday objects only seems inanimate. As we interact with things, they take on the meaning of our lives. Things have their intimate, indiscernible existence. They can make life easier or more complicated. They are time capsules and deposits of nostalgia." These new meanings come from our experience, knowledge, faith, etc., they can be shared with others and form focal points for us. If you open up to someone else's story, you will have an opportunity to better understand the world.

At present, I work as an educator at the Museum of Photography in Kraków. When the pandemic started and face-to-face contacts were severely restricted, we asked people who have no contact with photography on a daily basis to record a commentary and interpretation of a photograph of their choice forming a part of the Museum's collection. We published their statements online in a series: Prześwietlamy zbiory MuFo (MuFo collection revisited). Those talking about a particular photograph referred to their childhood experiences, they talked about their passions and other cultural texts they knew (paintings, films and music). Thanks to this type of activity, the museum collections have become closer to those directly involved in the project, the people listening to the stories, and to the museum staff responsible for the photographs.

We usually start workshops for senior citizens by looking at photographs from the MuFo collection and asking various questions: what will happen in a moment, who will appear, who will walk out of the door, what words will be said by the protagonists? We imagine ourselves standing with the people in the photograph: what place will we choose, who will be closest to us, will we sit in the foreground or will we watch the scene from behind? These conversations with seniors often change my perception of a particular photograph, and help me discover something new about it. They often serve as a starting point for longer conversations involving memories and talking about personal experiences.

A museum can learn from its audience and the audience can learn from the museum.