This book is devoted to reflection about the
politics of national identity as expressed in Poland
in the 1990s by the exhibition program of the
Zach ta National Gallery of Art. The intention is to
see how the concept of national identity associated
with traditional culture was dealt with in the
exhibition practice of Gallery Director Anda
Rottenberg, who gave Zach ta in the 1990s a
preeminently contemporary profile. The goal was to
see whether at the end of the 20th century, in times
of intense globalization and of the unification of
Europe, the notion of national identity can still be
operative, in particular for an institution
dedicated to the promotion and presentation of
contemporary art associated more with negation than
affirmation of the notion of national identity. The
analyses trace changes that the concept of national
identity underwent and describe how its new
understanding is reflected in museum practice.
politics of national identity as expressed in Poland
in the 1990s by the exhibition program of the
Zach ta National Gallery of Art. The intention is to
see how the concept of national identity associated
with traditional culture was dealt with in the
exhibition practice of Gallery Director Anda
Rottenberg, who gave Zach ta in the 1990s a
preeminently contemporary profile. The goal was to
see whether at the end of the 20th century, in times
of intense globalization and of the unification of
Europe, the notion of national identity can still be
operative, in particular for an institution
dedicated to the promotion and presentation of
contemporary art associated more with negation than
affirmation of the notion of national identity. The
analyses trace changes that the concept of national
identity underwent and describe how its new
understanding is reflected in museum practice.