Art In The City

Piotr Voelkel is one of the wealthiest Poles, the founder of the VOX Group and owner of the best non-public Uniwersity in Poland - SWPS. But instead of sitting on a pile of cash like Scrooge McDuck, he’s busy trying to change the world. He puts up iconic buildings, educates designers, sponsors exhibitions and backs young talent. What role plays art in his life? Why does he keep placing art install...

Jakub Szczęsny is an architect and artist best known as the author of the Keret House, often described as the narrowest house in the world. His work fuses radical minimalism with a deep reflection on historical memory and the social role of architecture. Szczęsny’s projects explore “impossible architecture” and treat space as a tool for social change. How do art and architecture shape cities and e...

Traffic Design is a collective of people who care about making life in Polish cities better. How can that be achieved? For instance, by improving the aesthetics of urban spaces — replacing visual noise and chaotic signage with simple, well-designed lettering, bringing back neon lights, introducing art into public spaces, and creating murals.      Natalia Wielebska explains what is placemaking and...

Mariusz Waras, aka M-City, is a world street art scene legend—he’s painted with Banksy at Leake Street Can Festival, designed the world’s most expensive rum bottle, and hungs out with Will Smith or Pierce Brosnan. Above all, he’s a versatile, consistent, and prolific artist. In his studio at the legendary Gdańsk Shipyard. We talk about art, cities, machines, fame, AI, old computers, the gritty rea...

Cecylia Malik is a painter, visual artist and environmental activist whose work has a tangible impact on public space, especially in Kraków. How did art help save a charming little spot from a developer’s plans? How do you become an “artivist”? And what makes artistic actions different from “ordinary” protests? We talk about Sisters of the Rivers, defending the Vistula and Białka rivers, the Water...

Thomas Phifer is the architect behind what is arguably the most controversial building Warsaw has seen in the past decade – the Museum of Modern Art. A block, a box, a bunker – those are some of the kinder nicknames locals have coined for the structure on Marszałkowska Street. What many people do not realise, however, is that Phifer will shape the very heart of the capital even more profoundly: ri...

The most famous street artist in the world — and perhaps one of the most popular artists of our time, period. Who is Banksy? We won’t try to solve that mystery here. Instead, we’ll take a closer look at his art. Join me for a top 10 of Banksy’s most powerful, provocative, and ingenious actions — the works that brought him fame, global recognition, and ultimately money, though where it all really c...

How do you become a truly 21st-century artist — someone capable of creating an audiovisual show across skyscrapers in Shenzhen, China? Projection mapping is an art form that embraces the latest technological innovations and isn’t afraid of a truly gigantic scale. How do you bring to life a train station, a palace, an airport or even your own home? My guest, Dariusz Makaruk, creates things no one h...

What is street art — and does it even exist? Who are the most influential street artists in Poland? Where can their works be found, and what stories lie behind them? In the first episode of our artistic journey in search of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, we talk to  Paweł Kwiatkowski , author of the book  Street Art Polska . The project  “Art in the City – a podcast about contemporary Polish art”  i...