The Museum is open 11:00 – 19:00
Cinema is closed now
The Museum is open 11:00 – 19:00
Cinema is closed now
Debate
Forget the potatoes, eat some art! How and why it’s worth talking to children about contemporary art
Guests
Anna Czernow, Katarzyna Kołodziej-Podsiadło, Katarzyna Witt, Aleksandra Górecka, Krzysztof Rybak
Location
Auditorium
Language of the meeting
Polish
Admission
Free admission thanks to a partnership with Audi
Wytwórnia Publishing House and the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw invite you to a panel discussion on how to talk to children about contemporary art—and two books that help spark such a conversation.
It is not a controversial view that children are full-fledged participants in cultural life. And yet, contemporary art is still often presented as a difficult, esoteric field intended primarily for adults. Is this really the case? Or perhaps children—thanks to their openness, curiosity, imagination, and willingness to ask questions—are among the best audiences for contemporary art? Maybe it is we, the adults, who are afraid of it?
The starting point for the meeting will be the publications “My World, My Art” by Katarzyna Kołodziej-Podsiadło and Marta Ignerska, and “Why Do We Need Art?” by Katarzyna Witt and Ola Niepsuj. These books are very different in form, but they share a common goal: to show that contemporary art doesn’t have to be difficult or inaccessible—it can become a space for children to discover the world, ask questions, and engage in creative activity.
During the meeting, we will look at the child as a full-fledged recipient of art, capable of interpreting works, asking questions, and constructing individual meanings. We will discuss how books can help adults—parents, teachers, and educators—in conversations with children about contemporary art, as well as how they can lower the threshold for entering the world of galleries and museums. Another key theme will be children’s creative work and how discussing it in a supportive manner—without judgment or comparison—strengthens their curiosity and creative courage. These reflections will lead us to a broader question about the role of cultural education in fostering sensitivity, imagination, and competence among young audiences.
We want this to be a lively, multi-voiced conversation—enriched by diverse perspectives. That is why the panel will feature professionals working in the fields of art, literature, and cultural education.
We especially invite parents, teachers, librarians, educators, and everyone who wants to explore contemporary art together with children.
About the books:
“My World, My Art” by Katarzyna Kołodziej-Podsiadło and Marta Ignerska is an extraordinary hybrid book—a combination of an art album and a sketchbook. Instead of lengthy descriptions, it features over a hundred reproductions of works by outstanding Polish artists of the 20th and 21st centuries—from Magdalena Abakanowicz and Tadeusz Kantor to Jaśmina Wójcik and Wilhelm Sasnal. Each one serves as an invitation to action: to draw, invent, interpret, and experiment. The book encourages children to be creatively bold and shows that art doesn’t have to be confined to museums—it can be created anywhere.
“Why Do We Need Art?” by Katarzyna Witt is a unique encounter with modern art—presented in a form that is attractive and child-friendly. Illustrated by Ola Niepsuj, it combines a visual atlas with texts, creative tasks, and illustrations that stimulate the imagination of young readers. The works from the MSN collection featured in the book encourage readers to look closely and form their own interpretations. They empower and encourage independent appreciation of art. The book received the 2025 Museum Award of the Year in the Educational Publications category.
The following people will attend the meeting:
Anna Czernow
Katarzyna Kołodziej-Podsiadło
Katarzyna Witt
Aleksandra Górecka
Krzysztof Rybak
Partner
This content was translated by DeepL