Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdańsk

Building on our experience in cooperating with the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, GESSEL has decided to lend its support to another cultural institution. As of July 2009, we have been providing free advice in the fields of copyright law, employment law, construction law, and real estate law to the Wyspa Progress Foundation, founder (in 2004) of the Wyspa Institute of Art in Gdańsk.

The Wyspa Institute of Art departs beyond the traditional conception of a gallery or of a museum with its own collection, pursuing an extensive programme of temporary exhibitions, screenings, workshops, and lectures. It has adopted the mission of not only presenting the most interesting phenomena in contemporary culture, but also of constructing its intellectual framework and of a research programme for documenting it. Thus, it is an interdisciplinary exhibition, research, and educational centre which comprises its own collection, a library and reading room, a publishing house and the WYSPA-base contemporary art archives.

The Institute is located on the premises of the former Gdańsk shipyard, site of a proposed new development – the Young City. This promises to be an extraordinary artistic and community project, and the Institute has declared its willingness to contribute as a mediator, working to integrate this new downtown with the historic city centre.