Around the Sea. Art – Science – Women
Discussion panel accompanying the exhibitions
Down deep: Living Seas, Living Bodies and The Female Image of the Sea
Programmes and Strategies of Cultural Institutions for the Future
7 March 2026 | 10:00 AM | State Art Gallery in Sopot
The event will be held in Polish and English.
Partners: Institute Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, University of Gdańsk
The discussion panel Around the Sea. Art – Science – Women accompanies the exhibitions Down deep: Living Seas, Living Bodies and The Female Image of the Sea, organized in Sopot in collaboration with British curators, Institute Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the University of Gdańsk, and the Sopot Women’s March. The event will focus on the artistic practices and collaborations with scientists developed by the exhibiting artists, as well as on recent major projects such as the UK/Poland Season, the Social Art Award, and other initiatives of the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI) in Berlin, as well as on Poland’s recent Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Representatives of cultural institutions from Poland and abroad will present their key projects as a starting point for discussion on future plans, strategies, and programmes worth pursuing.
Agenda
10:00–10:30 | Guided tour of the exhibition Down deep: Living Seas, Living Bodies
Led by: Co-curator of the exhibition, Eulalia Domanowska
Participants meet in the gallery space. A half-hour introduction to the exhibition, providing context for the subsequent discussions.
10.40 – 11.00 | Panel I
Programmes and Strategies of Cultural Institutions for the Future
Moderator: Eulalia Domanowska, art historian and curator, Director of the State Art Gallery
Speakers:
• 10:40–11:00 – Ewa Ayton, Head of Arts, Head of Arts, British Council Poland
UK/Poland Season 2025
• 11:00–11:20 – Olga Brzezińska, Deputy Director, Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2025
• 11:20–11:35 – Short discussion with the audience
11.35 – 11.50 | Przerwa kawowa
• 11:50–12:10 – Susane Burmester, curator and cultural activist
Activities around the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea
• 12:10–12:30 – Nicole Loeser, Director, Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), Berlin
Institutional programmes and practices
• 12:30–12:50 – Anna Łazar, Director, Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art
• 12:50–13:10 – Malin Barth, Director, Kunsthall 3.14 in Bergen, Norway
Main programme directions and strategies
• 13:10–13:20 – Short discussion with the audience
13.20 – 13.30 | Coffee break
13:30 – 14:30 | Panel II
Art and Science, Artistic Practice
Moderator: Susane Burmester, curator and cultural activist
Participants:
13:30–14:00 - Kristina Öllek, Estonian artist collaborating with scientists from the Baltic Sea region; Marie Jeschke, Berlin-based artist working with nature and ecology; scientists from the Institute Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Gdańsk
14:00 – 14:30 | Discussion with the audience. Closing remarks.
Co-financed by the City of Sopot
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state special-purpose fund
The project Down deep: Living Seas, Living Bodies is supported by the British Council as part of the UK/Poland Season 2025.