Polish cultural figures are organising the initiative “Art for Victory – People of Culture from Poland for a Free Ukraine 2026”, featuring an exhibition of artworks and a charity auction to raise funds that they promise will be directed towards supporting Ukrainian service personnel. This is reported by journalist and writer Mariusz Szczygieł.
On 23 September at 18:00, Instytut Fotografii Fort in Warsaw will open a pre-auction exhibition showcasing most of the works collected for the auction. The event will take place with invited guests and will be moderated by Szczygieł. Ukrainian dishes will be served. The exhibition will run until 29 September.
Among the works on display are collages by poet, essayist and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Wisława Szymborska, signed by the authors of the book; photographs by Polish documentary filmmakers; and a large snail sculpture by one of the classics of Polish art brut.
On 30 September at 19:00, the Museum of Modern Art will host the auction’s opening ceremony, with the auction itself set to begin at around 21:00 the same day on the Allegro Charytatywni online platform, where the first lots will be presented. Subsequent lots will appear every 5–7 days.
According to Szczygieł, to assemble the lots the organisers approached artists and cultural figures with a request to donate their works, signed books, or personal keepsakes for the auction. As of 21 September, more than 70 people had joined the initiative, including artists Wilhelm Sasnal, Ewa Kuryluk, Mirosław Bałka, Małgorzata Mycek, Karol Radziszewski and others.
As part of the event, there will be presentations of selected works by curator and art historian Anda Rottenberg, curator and art historian Adam Mazur, and journalist and writer Joanna Szczęsna; as well as readings of poems by contemporary Ukrainian women poets performed by Ukrainian actress Oksana Cherkashyna, accompanied by Ukrainian composer and pianist Oleksandra Malatskovska. The evening will conclude with a concert by Polish jazz musician and saxophonist Mikołaj Trzaska.
As Szczygieł notes, the funds raised during the auction will be transferred to three foundations—Sikorki na Ukrainie, Uniters and Fundacja Kordon—each of which will publish a report.
The project is organised by Szczygieł; writer and journalist Joanna Szczęsna; artist and photographer Rafał Milach; artist and curator Waldemar Tatarczuk; writer and screenwriter Maciej Pisuk; journalist and cultural figure Yevhen Klimakin; and volunteers and civic activists Tomasz Sikora, Magdalena Sikorska and Katarzyna Sikorska-Siudek.