Primary Forms (2025-2026)

The 5th edition of the contemporary art exhibition in schools. “Primary Forms” takes place in elementary schools in Mazovia (not in the MSN building).

01.10.2025–30.06.2026

The Museum is open

Place

Wstęp wolny

Primary Forms is a series of exhibitions and activities carried out by MSN Warsaw and the EFC Foundation since 2021. Each school year, new artworks are created in a range of formats—instructions, games, scores and objects—for use in schools, cultural centers, and libraries throughout Poland.

CURATORIAL TEAM

Sebastian Cichocki, Helena Czernecka

Artists

Mirosław Bałka

Neha Choksi

Alicja Czyczel

Józef Gałązka

Yuki Okumura

Prabhakar Pachpute

Philippe Parreno

Vessel

Ewelina Węgiel i Weronika Zalewska

Abbas Zahedi

About the program

What is Primary Forms project?

Primary Forms is a cyclical program for pupils at Polish primary schools. It has been carried out by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and the Roman Czernecki Educational Foundation since 2021. In each edition of the program a new set of artistic instructions, games, scores and objects are created and delivered to schools packed in specially designed boxes. These are used at the schools as a base for creation of artworks, art activities and exhibitions. The works are not necessarily tangible; a range of performances, concerts and happenings have been executed during the first few editions. So far, editions of Primary Forms have been spread out across Poland, but mainly in towns with a population below 30,000. In 2024 the program was also part of the Thailand Biennale. Primary Forms was included in a project executed by the Filipino artist Poklong Anading at a school library in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Inspirations and Historical References

Primary Forms was inspired by the School Prints program launched in the UK immediately after the Second World War, during the turbulent times of forging a new political and social order in Europe. An identical set of lithographs by a group of well-known artists were distributed to primary schools and displayed in classrooms. In the scheme, new works were created by artists such as Barbara Jones, Henri Matisse, Henry Moore, John Nash and Pablo Picasso. The Primary Forms program also alludes to numerous other experiments connected with art and education in the 20th and 21st centuries. One point of reference is Marcel Duchamp and his travelling “museum in a suitcase,” or “Fluxkits ”—boxes prepared by artists affiliated with the Fluxus movement, containing scores, models, audio recordings, games, puzzles and stencils. Another example is Pure Consciousness, a series of exhibitions begun at preschools in 1998 of works by the Japanese conceptual artist On Kawara. In the educational context and in the company of children, Kawara’s paintings were used as a teaching instrument helping children learn numbers and the days of the week. Primary Forms is also inspired by the exercises and methodologies of artists who worked in schools or established their own educational institutions, such as Joseph Beuys, Cornelius Cardew, Jef Geys, Anna Halprin, Oskar Hansen, Asger Jorn, K.G. Subramanyan, and many others.

The School as Exhibition, Children as Creators

The boxes distributed to the schools contain within themselves a “dormant exhibition,” which can be materialized in the form chosen by the pupils. The activities in the program play out in the rhythm of the school year. Teachers, with the support of museum educators, work with teams of pupils from grades 4 through 8. The essence of the process is to place agency in the children’s hands and for them to learn from one another within the creative activity. The group has time for experiments, asking questions, stretching their imagination, and testing themselves in new roles (for the teachers as well). The teachers involved in the program take part in training, workshops and plein-air sessions, to prepare them for work in the project—to familiarize them with contemporary, conceptual art based on process, actions and relationships, not only on creating objects, so that they can integrate these activities into their future work as teachers.

What Can an Exhibition Be?

The exhibitions which are the fruits of the teams’ efforts are created within school spaces—in classrooms and corridors, in the gymnasium or the playground. They can be performed numerous times and interpreted in various ways, much like playing a musical score. Through the Primary Forms program, we pose questions like: What can we do with art? What can be an exhibition? Where and when does an exhibition start and end? What can we learn from artists? Does contact with art give rise to knowledge? How to understand art—and also enjoy not understanding it?

Letter

Dear Friends,

Something special awaits you in this box from the Museum of Modern Art—works of art conceived by artists from around the world. The works are not yet finished. You will shape them into their final form, and in the end, perhaps create one large exhibition. This will require some patience and work, and the results can be very diverse and surprising. Do everything your way.

Each piece comes with instructions; all of them are included in this booklet. Sometimes the descriptions can be cryptic, sometimes in the package containing a specific work you’ll find a separate letter from the artist, addressed to you.

For unpacking the box and subsequent meetings, set aside a large empty space in your classroom, hallway, or perhaps even in the gymnasium or, weather permitting, on the playground in front of the school.

Remove the items from the boxes and familiarize yourself with their contents. Be careful not to mix them up. Each smaller package was prepared by a single artist or artistic collective. Which items and instructions caught your eye? Choose the pieces you’d like to start with. You might want to split into groups. Creating all the artworks will take a long time—weeks, even months. The process matters just as much as the final result. Take your time, spend some time with each piece, have fun with it. Reflect on what the artists wanted to convey. Then think about how you can create on your own terms, in a way that brings you joy.

In art, there are no wrong answers or wrong ideas. Every interpretation is valuable because it reveals who you are, how you think, and how you view the world.

We encourage you to look at art as a new language, one we can learn together. We can use it to communicate with each other—in school and beyond—sometimes without uttering a single word. This is the power of art: the discovery of new worlds, friendships, and adventures, the key to which may lie in learning a new, completely unusual language.

Once you’ve completed all the tasks, or at least most of them, you might want to put together the results of your work in one place. You can stage the exhibition you create in a classroom, cafeteria, hallway, gym, basement, locker room, or perhaps even outside the building? One thing is certain: you won’t see this exhibition in any museum in the world. Everything is in your hands.

See what happens when you put different objects together. Do things have a voice? Who’s speaking? Can you tell a story by arranging objects in different configurations?

Can you use works of art like words when constructing a sentence? Can we say something without saying a word? How can we communicate?

You’ll also find postcards in the box: use them to describe your exhibitions and your experiences with various works of art and send them to the Museum. Perhaps you’d also like to send a message to the artists whose works are included in the box? We look forward to receiving your cards! Drop them in the mailbox.

Art is many different things. You’ll find out by unpacking the box and creating your own works.

Whatever happens, write to us at the Museum. We hope this is the beginning of our relationship and that many shared adventures await us.

Do it yourself! Or let’s do it together!

Sebastian, Helena, and Marta

Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw

The Box

The concept of the inflatable box for “Primary Forms” is based on the idea of creating a lightweight, ephemeral structure that exists not thanks to material mass, but due to the presence of air.

It is a piece of temporary architecture that can be easily deployed, folded, and relocated, adapting to a specific place, time, and event. Once inflated, thanks to its softness and lightness, it also responds to the body carrying or moving it. Instead of rigidity and weight, it offers play, freedom, flexibility, and mutability of form.

The “art box” becomes a democratic tool for mobile display, present wherever the need for viewing, participation, or co-creation arises. The project emphasizes that architecture can also be air and an environment, not merely a building.

Zygmunt Borawski
Architect and designer of this year’s “Primary Forms” box

"Signals"

Mirosław Bałka
"SIGNALS"

Photo. Two children are playing with small instruments outside, with a white building in the background.

Mirosław Bałka encourages us to learn a new alphabet. Known as the semaphore alphabet, it is not entirely new (it was created in 1866), but it is rarely used today. It was invented for ship crews to communicate with other vessels at sea or with people on land, provided, of course, that the distance is not too great. Each position of the hands with the flags against the sailor’s body represents a different letter or number. Communicating a message can seem like a series of gymnastic exercises. Today, the semaphore alphabet is still used in situations where there’s a risk of being overheard, such as on military boats. This alphabet was used for many different purposes well into the 20th century, such as during mountain climbs or Boy Scout maneuvers. American poet Hannah Weiner wrote poetry using it. You can certainly find many uses for this alphabet, whether at school, at home, or on the playground—after all, we all love codes, secrets, and puzzles to solve.

Is art a “foreign” language? What’s the difference between learning a new language and learning art? Do we become a different person when we speak a different language? Why can a work of art mean something completely different to different people? What is minimalism? Are works of art puzzles to be solved?

Neha Choksi
"Węzły i niewęzły: jeden i wiele"

Neha Choksi proposed “sculptures for tying and untying.” Many languages have words and sayings about relationships that refer to knots, ropes, and cords. We talk about “attaching” ourselves to someone, being “bonded” by blood, or being connected to someone by a “knot” of friendship or love. Rope is a metaphor that can be applied to relationships with our loved ones. We will practice on a real rope—one meter long and two centimeters thick. First, you will give your rope the desired character by dyeing it in various shades of blue and decorating it (with beads, patches, pins, etc.) to make it one of a kind. In the next step, you will carefully review the instructions Neha has prepared for you. They allow for various exercises involving tying and untying, knots, and even creating one shared sculpture from all your ropes. Each knot and weave reflects the relationships within your group. We hope these exercises will bond you as closely as possible!

When is it better to make art alone, and when in a group?
What is a prop?
What does it mean to bind yourself to someone or something, and why is this verb associated with string or rope?
Can a work of art save someone or something?
What does the word “participation” mean?

Alicja Czyczel
"Multi-Sensory Mindfulness Score"

Photo. In the foreground, a girl wrapped in a sea-colored cloth; in the background, an adult and a child holding an orange and yellow cloth spread out.

Alicja Czyczel has drawn up instructions for traveling without leaving your seat. Read it carefully, because mindfulness is key here. You don’t need any materials; a quiet and comfortable place will do.

Dancing during her nature walks, Alicja often records her own movement in the form of lists of words, poems, diagrams, and drawings. She says of these notes: “They are traces; I don’t always reuse them; sometimes I work on them for longer, and they become scores that I share with others.” Here is one such score, created while the artist was dancing on a beach by the Baltic Sea.

You can follow this instruction individually or in a group, trying to feel the sea breeze and hear the crash of the waves, wherever you find yourself. The artist’s instructions are also accompanied by a drawing printed on fabric. This is an additional prop that can help you take this journey in your own head. Perhaps it will flutter in the wind, or you will use it as a shade from the sun?

What is a score?
Can art also be used for listening, not just for viewing?
How long can I focus on one thing?
Can I travel to other places through art?
What does “deep listening” mean, and can I “listen deeply”?

Józef Gałązka
"Exercises in Seeing"

Artist Józef Gałązka has prepared a kit for you to build a so-called magic box, a pinhole camera that allows you to transfer your observations into drawings.

A pinhole camera (camera obscura in Latin) is a simple optical device that displays images using light. All you need is a simple box with a small hole, through which you can frame an element of the environment to see an inverted reflection on one of its sides. For centuries, artists have used pinhole cameras to more precisely draw buildings and people. In astronomy, they were used to observe the paths of stars. It was made famous by scientists and painters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Johannes Vermeer. The pinhole camera is the forerunner of cameras.

In the box, you’ll find a starter kit: lenses, adhesives, a mirror, a focusing screen, tracing paper, and, of course, instructions for making a pinhole camera. The artist has also prepared suggested exercises that will give you ideas for using your camera.

A pinhole camera allows you to examine your surroundings with great precision and mindfulness. The drawings you create with it can become a communication tool. For example, if you want to make changes to your surroundings, you can add proposed new elements to your drawings. This will certainly help you illustrate your proposed changes and facilitate discussions about them with teachers, parents, and local officials.

What is the difference between looking and seeing?
Does art teach seeing, and how?
What is the relationship between art and technology?
What are drawings used for in the world besides decoration?

Yuki Okumura
"Proxy Forms"

Yuki Okumura proposes creating works of art based on museum plaques found in a box. The plaques are identical to those used by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. Moreover, they are plaques related to real works from the museum’s collection. You’ll find basic information on them: the artist’s name, title, year of creation, and materials used. Try to create a piece yourself based on this information, using only materials you can find at school. If a particular element isn’t available at school, you can substitute it with another you deem appropriate. Don’t have access to 24-karat gold? Never mind, maybe yellow modeling clay will work just as well?

Most importantly, don’t look up the original works online or in books—you’ll do that later, after you’ve completed the exercise. Use your imagination by following the titles: what might the work behind the intriguing Visit of Professor Zemła or the mysterious Traveler look like? Yuki Okumura suggests playing the entire exercise in nine rounds, in complete silence. Of course, first gather the necessary materials, and then, step by step, based on a few basic pieces of information, try to bring a work of art to life – much like creating a composite portrait of a person based on incomplete witness accounts. There are no wrong answers in this exercise—the point isn’t to create something as close to the original as possible, but to enjoy the fruits of imagination.

Is good art simply a good idea?
What is conceptualism?
Can less sometimes be more?
Why do books, films, and works of art have titles?
What else can have a title?
Are there works of art without a title?
What is a title, and is it the same as a name?
How can creating something small have big consequences?
What happens when we name something?

Philippe Parreno
"Untitled"

Philippe Parreno has always been interested in the living dimension of art. The task he has prepared for you also, in a sense, brings to life dormant objects and sets them in motion. Using old posters, you will create shadow puppets that, performing on stage, will become an extension of yourselves.

Start by collecting old posters from your local cultural institutions–museums or galleries, the library, cinema, community center. You can also use posters from past exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, which are included in the box. Once you’ve chosen a poster you like or that has caught your eye, have fun creating different shapes with it. You can bend it or cut out various elements. Manipulate your poster however you like to give it new life. Glue the results to any hard surface—for example, cardboard, paperboard, or foam—and cut around them to create the silhouette of your shape. Then, attach the shape to one end of a wooden stick (found in the box) so that you can hold the whole thing by the other end. You’ve just created a shadow puppet!

The next step is to create a stage on which your puppets can perform. Have the entire group of puppets gather on it, and create a story together that you want to tell. Invite the audience to watch your performance and illuminate your puppets with a strong light to create shadows on the back of the stage. During the performance, scatter confetti or small pieces of paper to fall on the stage and all around like snow. Make it a boisterous and unforgettable spectacle.

After the performance, lean the shadow puppets against the wall and leave the confetti snow in place. What remains after your performance? Repeat the performance as often as you like. It should be different each time.

Can art be alive/living?
How can you give an old object new life?
Who can create art, only humans?
What does it mean for an experience to be immersive?

Vessel
"The Talking Piece"

The Greek art group Vessel has written the rules for the Council—a gathering where you can share your ideas, dreams, and fears. The ceramic animal you’ll find inside the box was made by Maria Sánchez Alonso, a Spanish dancer and poet who lives on the Greek island of Aegina with her three cats. The person holding the object has the right to speak—they cannot be interrupted until they have finished speaking. That’s why the ceramic animal is called a “talking piece.” Inside the box, you’ll find detailed instructions on how to organize a Council meeting—read the rules aloud to ensure you understand each one.

Sit in a circle on the floor. Each session is preceded by a moment of silence, during which you sit with your eyes closed and calm your wandering thoughts. Then, you nominate the person who speaks first. Choose one of the questions found in the box, for example, what animal would you like to be? You can also ask your own questions —prepare them in advance and write them down on a piece of paper. Everyone tries to answer them, holding the “talking piece” in their hands. You can also pass the “talking piece” on to the next person without saying a word. When the session ends, thank the ceramic animal and each other for the time spent together. Perhaps your group will want to organize such sessions regularly.

Can art help us communicate?
Am I good at listening to others?
What is a collective?
Can things speak?
Can art have an impact on the world?
And on me? And on my friends?
Is it true that “speech is silver, silence is golden”?

Ewelina Węgiel & Weronika Zalewska
"Find from Primary School No. ..."

Ewelina and Weronika have prepared a story for you. However, this is no ordinary story; it doesn’t follow a single path or have a single ending. You have a decisive influence on its shape.

In the box, you will find a voice recorder, recording cassettes, and one special cassette with a recording prepared for you by Ewelina and Weronika. This cassette contains an outline of the story, which you will continue by recording subsequent cassettes, as well as detailed instructions on how to do so. The artists have also written a letter to you, which you can find here:

Find an unusual corner in school, one where darkness and silence reign, and the walls whisper secrets. Let it be a place rarely visited, unusual, as if enchanted. If such a place is hard to find, try creating one together—cover the windows, bring soft seats or blankets—or maybe even hide under a table?

Gather together like travelers from different lands to rest in a dark cave by a smoldering fire. Sit comfortably, close together in a small circle so you can hear the voices coming from the tape recorder. When everyone is ready, press “play.” Close your eyes and let the story take you into the unknown. Let the words and sounds lead you into a world of imagination. Wander only where the voices on the tape lead you.

When the recording stops, remain silent for a moment, as if listening to the calm before a storm. Remain in the circle. If you are a large group, split into smaller groups of five to eight, each forming its own circle.

Now it’s your turn to continue the story. You could first discuss how you envision the continuation of the characters’ fates—the human, the animal, and the soil. Try to guide their adventures towards new ways of working together.

Let the words resonate, but also the sounds: rustling, clattering, whispering, singing, shouting, and the sounds of the instruments you have at hand (you can also create your own). You can tell a traditional fairy tale, turn it into a story, an interview, or a news report. Take on different roles, impersonate whomever you desire. Create mind maps, plans, or indulge in spontaneous play.

If boredom overtakes you, here are some guiding questions: What did the snail dream about? What can you add to the soil to heal it? How can you survive the winter together?

When the time comes, take a new cassette and insert it into the recorder. Record your own stories—one or several, different endings, alternative paths for the characters. Let your imagination guide you through speculations, jokes, and fabrications. You can return to this story in future meetings, because ideas spring up like mushrooms after a rainstorm—in silence, during breaks, in everyday conversations. Write them down, and then weave new narratives from them.

Once you’ve recorded everything, the tapes will be sent to us. We’ll weave a soundtrack from your voices, songs, and rustlings.

Does every story have an ending?
Can art tell a story? If so, how?
What does a story consist of?
How can a story travel?
Why is it said that sounds flow?
How can art allow us to take on different roles?
And how does this help us better understand others?

ZAKOLE

Abbas Zahedi
"Sonic Signals"

Abbas Zahedi invites you to engage in deep listening. It’s a practice in which we focus on consciously experiencing the sounds around us, both intentional and accidental.

Such deep listening exercises can lead to a sense of reality in greater harmony and unity with the world around us. Perhaps they awaken other feelings within you? In the box, you’ll find seven decks of six cards each, along with instructions for using them. You can use them like playing cards, forming groups of any size or playing individually. Mix the cards well and choose randomly. Each card contains descriptions of exercises—all of which involve sounds you can record, reproduce with various tools, or produce yourself.

The box also includes a colored sheet of paper—roll it up to achieve different effects. It can be used like a trumpet or megaphone, like a telescope for a closer look. By drawing on the paper, you can also use it to visually represent the sounds you’re listening to.

Can art help us listen?
What is deep listening and what are its effects?
What is sound art?
Is there absolute silence?
What distinguishes sound from noise?

Colophon

Primary Forms

Edition 5.

1.10.2025–30.06.2026

Artists

Mirosław Bałka, James Bridle (Vessel), Neha Choksi, Alicja Czyczel, Navine G. Dossos (Vessel), Józek Gałązka, Yuki Okumura, Philippe Parreno, Ewelina Węgiel, Abbas Zahedi, Weronika Zalewska

CURATORIAL TEAM

Sebastian Cichocki, Helena Czernecka

Box Design

Zygmunt Borawski

Graphic Design

Nicola Cholewa, Gosia Stolińska

Editing and Proofreading

Agnieszka Stęplewska

Translation

Marcin Wawrzyńczak

Educators

Wiktor Bębacz, Mikołaj Brzozowski, Alicja Czyczel, Olga Dyjak, Ola Górecka, Tomek Krajewski, Paula Kuch-Krawiec, Piotr Lewandowski, Iza Niepokój, Anik Radzimińska, Weronika Siemińska, Natalia Suska, Gabi Żylińska

Teachers

Agata Baranowska-Żak, Iweta Baranowska, Barbara Bombik, Agata Dutkiewicz, Agata Gawryła, Ewelina Gers, Anna Larenta, Ewa Możdżonek, Iza Ostrowska, Ewa Placet, Anna Skwara, Anna Wawrynik, Marta Żach, Małgorzata Żelazowska, Iwona Żukowska

Teachers’ Development Program Coordination

Anna Grajewska, Barbara Kwiatkowska-Tybulewicz

Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw Education Team

Jakub Drzewiecki, Aleksandra Górecka, Agnieszka Gwiazdowicz, Karolina Iwańczyk, Marek Łuszczyk, Maria Nowak, Marta Przybył

Collaboration (Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw)

Iga Winczakiewicz, Marta Wójcicka, Olga Zawada, Szymon Żydek

Production

Maria Nowak, Marta Przybył

Realisation

Cotton-Bee, Michał Chojecki (Oficyna Peryferie), Drukpol, Kuba Kamiński (Pracownia Tryktrak), Konrad Kosmala (International Sourcing Sp. z o.o.), Linsznur Rope Factory, Piotr Mańkowski (Polska Grupa Biznesu), Bożena Zaremba

THE PARTNER OF THE “PRIMARY FORMS” PROJECT IS THE EFC FOUNDATION

SCHOOLS AND INSTITUTIONS

Primary School named after the Heroes of the V-2 Action in Sarnaki,

Primary School in Kąty,

Zofia Nałkowska Public Primary School with Bilingual Departments No. 1 in Kobyłka,

Complex of General Schools in Rusinów,

Jan Kochanowski Public Primary School in Rusinów,

Maria Konopnicka Primary School in Golice,

School and Kindergarten Complex No. 1 in Sokołów Podlaski,

Public Primary School No. 2 in Sokołów Podlaski,

Gen. M. Zaruski Primary School in Zielonki-Parcela,

Kazimierz Górski Primary School in Czaplinek,