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Politics in Art

April 27, 2022 – February 26, 2023
MOCAK, Краков

Selected artworks

  • Maria Anna Potocka
    curator
  • Agnieszka Sachar
    curator
  • Martyna Sobczyk
    curator
  • Mirosława Bałazy
    coordinator
  • Michał Adamski
    participant
  • Paweł Althamer
    participant
  • Andrey Anro
    participant
  • Alpin Arda Bağcık
    participant
  • Mirosław Bałka
    participant
  • Krzysztof M. Bednarski
    participant
  • Marcin Berdyszak
    participant
  • Jerzy Bereś
    participant
  • Andrij Bojarov
    participant
  • Maciej Cholewa
    participant
  • Hubert Czerepok
    participant
  • Edward Dwurnik
    participant
  • Elmgreen & Dragset
    participant
  • Daniil Galkin
    participant
  • Thomas Galler
    participant
  • Jakob Ganslmeier
    participant
  • Lukáš Houdek
    participant
  • Khaled Jarrar
    participant
  • Hannes Jung
    participant
  • Šejla Kamerić
    participant
  • Allan Kaprow
    participant
  • Dick Higgins
    participant
  • kennardphillipps
    participant
  • Thomas Kilpper
    participant
  • Paweł Kowalewski
    participant
  • Jarosław Kozłowski
    participant
  • Marcin Kruk
    participant
  • Agata Kubis
    participant
  • Michalina Kuczyńska
    participant
  • Tomasz Kulka
    participant
  • Edgar Leciejewski
    participant
  • Alicja Lesiak
    participant
  • Zbigniew Libera
    participant
  • Ella Littwitz
    participant
  • Artem Loskutov
    participant
  • Agnieszka Mastalerz
    participant
  • Rafał Milach
    participant
  • Richard Mosse
    participant
  • Tanja Muravskaja
    participant
  • Joanna Musiał
    participant
  • Deimantas Narkevičius
    participant
  • Csaba Nemes
    participant
  • Laura Pannack
    participant
  • Pyotr Pavlensky
    participant
  • Beata Pofelska
    participant
  • Wojtek Radwański
    participant
  • Tomáš Rafa
    participant
  • Artūras Raila
    participant
  • Oliver Ressler
    participant
  • Adam Rzepecki
    participant
  • Bartek Sadowski
    participant
  • Tomasz Sarnecki
    participant
  • Maxim Sarychau
    participant
  • Santiago Sierra
    participant
  • Slavs and Tatars
    participant
  • Olia Sosnovskaya
    participant
  • a.z.h.
    participant
  • Paweł Starzec
    participant
  • Stitchit and Collective
    participant
  • SUPERFLEX
    participant
  • Paweł Susid
    participant
  • Jason deCaires Taylor
    participant
  • Piotr Uklański
    participant
  • Daniel Warmuziński
    participant
  • Sislej Xhafa
    participant
  • Ada Zielińska
    participant
  • Dawid Zieliński
    participant
  • Artur Żmijewski
    participant

In the past, art served the purpose of bolstering political power –today it is a tool for questioning and holding authority to account. Once, artists used their talent to support the political system of the day. Today, they have become perspicacious and critical observers of the political scene and are active participants in opposition.


The relationship between politics and art goes back a long way. For centuries, religion was part of the arrangement; for rulers and politicians it was the means of gaining control over hearts and minds. In some countries religion continues to back politics, with a doubly demoralising effect.

The exhibition Politics in Art presents – in six sections – the sceptical and critical approach of contemporary artists to the actions of those in power, exposing the artifice and mendacity of political strategies. It demonstrates that in the name of ambition, the desire to remain in power and the feeding of the dictatorial ego, politicians are capable of lying, manipulation and murder. Artists oppose this, both as critics and as soldiers.

  • Opposition and Protest – artistic manifestation of social and political views, and opposition to unethical behaviour of those in power. In extreme situations – such as the war in Ukraine – artists join in the fight.

  • Subverting Systems and Borders – questioning existing divisions and proposing – often utopian – ideas for political change and revolution.

  • Democracy and Its Corruption – identifying the ideal political model, realised through civil liberty and the right to vote, while pointing out its distortions.

  • Nationalism – warning against the reprehensible conviction that the assumed superiority of one’s own nation justifies contempt for and aggression towards others.

  • European Union – concern for the stability of the European Community in the era of migration, Brexit and the imperialist military aggression of Russia.

  • Political Mediality – exposing the role of the mass media in shaping political views, and their potential for the manipulation of information. Protest against muzzling of the media.

Politics in Art is the 10th exhibition in the flagship MOCAK series, in which we combine art with the most important civilisational concepts. Each exhibition presents a variety of artistic interpretations of a given theme. Politics in Art has been confronted with a tragic time when political ambitions have turned into a crime.