The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN Warsaw) is closely tied to the city, its history and inhabitants. The museum was established in 2005 by the Ministry of Culture. Since 1 January 2023 it has operated as an institution of the City of Warsaw.
In 2006–2022 the museum was run jointly by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (which financed and supervised the museum’s day-to-day activity) and the City of Warsaw (which provided the museum a temporary home, financed selected projects, and was responsible for construction of the museum’s future permanent building). The permanent home of MSN Warsaw was built at ul. Marszałkowska 103.
In the spring of 2017 MSN Warsaw launched its new exhibition space, referred to as the “Museum on the Vistula” to distinguish it from the institution’s administrative headquarters at that time at ul. Pańska 3.
In the Powiśle neighborhood, at ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 22, next door to the Copernicus Science Center and across the street from the University of Warsaw Library, the Museum on the Vistula was housed in a pavilion designed by the Austrian architect Adolf Krischanitz, which previously, in 2008–2010, had served as the temporary home of the Kunsthalle Berlin.
The pavilion was lent to MSN Warsaw free of charge by the Vienna-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, a foundation established in 2002 by Francesca von Habsburg with the mission of disseminating experimental art and architecture. In line with the architect’s intentions, the façade of the Museum on the Vistula was covered in a painting composition.
In 2016 the competition for the façade was won by the artist Sławomir Pawszak, and his work was installed on the façade in the spring of 2017, shortly after the pavilion opened. Apart from the exhibition gallery, the Museum on the Vistula housed a café, a bookstore, and a small educational center. The building is surrounded by terraces for outdoor activities.
A Tiger Came into the Garden: Art of Maria Prymachenko, running from April to July 2024, was the final exhibition at the Museum on the Vistula. But soon the Pavilion of Dance and Other Performative Arts will arise in the same location. The Warsaw City Council has adopted a decision to earmark additional funds to adapt and furnish the pavilion for its new function.
Who will be responsible for the artistic direction of the Pavilion of Dance and Other Performative Arts? An open competition has launched at the site pawilontanca.pl for the curatorial conception of a year-long pilot program. Both curators and artistic collectives have been invited to participate in the competition.
Renovation of the Pavilion on the Vistula, followed by adapting the building to its new function, will begin in late 2024. The start date for the one-year pilot program will depend on the timetable for the renovation work, but is projected to be in mid-2025.
The museum’s “forever home” has a total floor area of 19,788 m2. The glazed and publicly accessible ground floor, along with the numerous tall trees beside the building, form a new space in the heart of the city.
