INNER STRENGTH @ MANGGHA

Polish and Japanese female illustrators at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology  /16 July –19 September 2021

Are Polish and Japanese women similar? What is their role in the ever-changing world and what is their inner strength that helps them build a social position?

These are the questions asked by Polish and Japanese illustrators as part of the project co-organized by the Spirit of Poland Foundation –  “Inner Strength. The Women of Poland and Japan”. An exhibition of their works will be shown between 16 July and 19 September 2021 at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Krakow in Poland, thanks to support from Kansai Osaka 21st Century Association. The exhibition looks at the role and self-perception of women in Poland and Japan. It will feature prints, illustrations and ceramics, created specifically for this project by artists from Poland and Japan, in addition to a video showing different interpretations and definitions of inner strength. 

The works shown at the exhibition offer various insights on being a woman in the contemporary world. The artists reveal the world of traditions, beliefs, superstitions, and the hardships of everyday life and work; they reveal their characters and what motivates them. By addressing the problems they experience, they refute stereotypes and the social roles assigned to them, touching on various current and recurrent issues. 

The exhibition “Inner Strength. The Women of Poland and Japan” is curated by Monika Brauntsch from the Spirit of Poland foundation and the Polish visual artist living in Tokyo, Ewelina Skowrońska. The illustrators from Poland are represented by Basia Grzybowska Flores, Magda Pilaczyńska, Patrycja Podkościelny, Ewelina Skowrońska, and Daria Solak. The Japanese artists are Aona Hayashi, Hitomi Itoh, Aki Ishibashi, Noriyo Yoshida, and the MeMe collective (Hisae Maeda, Izumi Showkawa and Chika Higashi).

The exhibition “Inner Strength. The Women of Poland and Japan” is organized by the Spirit of Poland Foundation and the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, in partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Institute in Tokyo.

The project has been funded by a grant from the Kansai Osaka 21st Century Association
www.osaka21.or.jp/jecfund/english/

Inner Strength. The Women of Poland and Japan
Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology
6 July –19 September 2021