SALT WAREHOUSE: THIS PLANET IS ALREADY INHABITED

The exhibition features “floating artworks” designed and executed by the artists, NGOs and collectives who make up the community of Skład Solny (i.e. “Salt Warehouse”) in Kraków. At MSN Warsaw, Salt Warehouse presents itself via its flagship annual event, Aquatic Critical Mass. This grass-roots celebration of the Vistula, held since 2011, consists of sailing along the central section of the Vistula River on specially prepared rafts as it runs through the city (by Wawel and the Old Town). Against the background of objects from this annual happening, This Planet Is Already Inhabited relates the history of the Salt Warehouse community and the solidarity it showed in its victorious defense of this independent space for art.

The Salt Warehouse itself is an 18th-century building in Kraków formerly used to store salt. The first artists showed up in the abandoned and neglected spaces of the building in 1998, and thanks to their work and social engagement this unique structure quickly became a perfect location for painters, sculptors, photographers, scenographers and musicians. Today, a quarter-century later, Salt Warehouse has changed from “cells to rent” into an informal, vibrant, active collective. Despite numerous high-profile social happenings, such as Aquatic Critical Mass, and all of the exhibitions and concerts held there, the position of the artists in the Salt Warehouse remained under constant threat. The City of Kraków had plans to establish other uses there, such as a philharmonic, and then the Lem Planet Center for Literature and Language. In the fall of 2023, artists, activists, craftsmen, and musicians renting studios in the building took to the streets of Krakow with a banner reading "This planet is already inhabited," starting a protest and a public debate about the value of grassroots culture. This inspired the Salt Warehouse community to establish the Skład Solny Association, which became a member of Trans Europe Halles, a network of independent arts and culture centers. In January 2025 the Mayor of Kraków announced that the city was abandoning its planned project at the site, in recognition of the Salt Warehouse community’s contribution to shaping the culture of the city. The Salt Warehouse is now home to painting, sculpture, conservation and music studios. There’s also a recording studio, spaces for foundations and other NGOs, a luthier’s workshop, the Skład Solny Gallery, and the Squirrel Center for Contemporary Art (CSW Wiewiórka)—the organizer of Aquatic Critical Mass.

The 14th Aquatic Critical Mass was held in June of this year. This is an annual happening involving artists, ecological activists, and a broad circle of people engaged in environmental protection. This is the one day when Cracovians touch the river and enter it. The slogan for Aquatic Critical Mass is “We want to swim”—a reminder that before dams were built below Wawel, there were huge sandy beaches here, where thousands of Kraków residents would relax on the water. During the event, kayaks and pontoon boats pass along the Cracovian section of the Vistula, along with other watercraft handmade especially for this occasion, amazing constructions, and rafts made from recycled materials—a carousel cresting the waves, a fish boat, and the spaceship Millennium Falcon. This artistic happening on the Vistula draws attention to the problem of water pollution, warns against the depletion of aquatic resources as a result of the climate catastrophe, and puts art into action for the sake of environmental protection. The event aims to raise Cracovians’ awareness of the ecological importance of bodies of water in the context of urbanization, climate change, and the global challenges of aquatic resources. The presentation of rafts at MSN Warsaw also reminds us of the problems this year with the Vistula in the capital as well, where water levels in the river hit record lows. This planet is already inhabited—now we have to take care of it.