Modern Art Biennale
Pałac Struga 2026
I International Art Biennale
STRUGA . KONTEKSTY | STRUGA . CONTEXTS
Welcome to the International
Biennale of Contemporary Art
at the Struga Palace – a place
where history meets
modernity.
STRUGA. CONTEXTS
On the Idea of the International Art Biennale – Pałac Struga
The International Art Biennale – Pałac Struga emerges from the need to create a space of encounter. It continues earlier exhibition initiatives, while consciously shaping a long-term identity built on continuity and development.
The Biennale is not merely a competition. It establishes a rhythm – a recurring moment of concentration, confrontation and selection. Every two years, diverse artistic expression forms are brought together, and individual statements begin to function within a shared space.
The notion of “Contexts” forms the foundation of this idea. It is not a theme, nor a
prescribed narrative. It expresses an awareness that an artwork never exists in isolation – it is always in relation: to place, to history, to other works, to the viewer. Meaning does not arise in separation. It is generated through encounter.
Pałac Struga is not a neutral backdrop. Its architecture, traces of time, the coolness of its walls and the changing quality of light co-create the conditions of reception. Space influences the artwork, just as the artwork transforms the space. Within this exchange, a productive tension emerges – one that lies at the core of the Biennale.
The Biennale embraces diversity of media and artistic attitudes. It does not pursue a unified aesthetic or seek to confirm prevailing trends. What matters is plurality – a situation in which works do not merely coexist, but enter into dialogue, contrast and sometimes even disagreement.
“Contexts” also refers to the international dimension of the event. The meeting of artists representing different environments and cultural experiences expands the field of interpretation and allows art to be understood as a space of exchange rather than a closed system.
The International Art Biennale – Pałac Struga builds a place where meaning is not
imposed, but emerges through relation – through attentiveness to space, to materiality, and to the presence of other co-experiencer.
Struga. Contexts.
Not a slogan. A perspective.
Aurelia Tymińska
Exhibition Curator
History of the Event
The International Art Biennale – Pałac Struga is a natural continuation of the International Art Reviews organized at Struga Palace since 2021.
The initiative was inspired by the long-standing artistic activities of Krzysztof Ryfa, who runs a private art gallery in a historic granary in Ostrów Wielkopolski. The first edition of the International Art Review – Pałac Struga took place in 2021, made possible through substantial curatorial and technical support from Krzysztof Ryfa and Natalia Wegner.
In the following years, the format of the event expanded and developed through broader institutional cooperation. The 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions of the International Art Review were organized as a joint initiative of three non-governmental organizations: Independent Association Gallery 33 (Ostrów Wielkopolski), Stacja Kultura Association (Borne Sulinowo), and the Struga Palace Foundation.
This collaboration between three artistic communities resulted in the project entitled International Art Review – From the Mountains to the Sea, connecting artists and institutions from three regions of Poland: Greater Poland, West Pomerania and Lower Silesia.
The experience gained during successive editions of the Review, together with the
growing scale and international scope of participation, led to the transformation of the format into the International Art Biennale – Pałac Struga. The Biennale structure enables further development of the project, the introduction of a two-stage selection process, and the building of a long-term institutional identity.
Struga Palace Foundation
The Struga Palace Foundation was established on 5 July 2017 by the owners of the
palace and park complex in Struga in order to expand the possibilities of obtaining funding for rescue, renovation and conservation works, as well as to develop cultural, historical and educational activities conducted by them since 2012.
Rescue, renovation and conservation works, carried out since 2003, gradually restore the former splendour of this noble residence. The condition of the building and the scale of the necessary conservation efforts require substantial financial resources and long-term commitment, extending across generations.
The owners chose not to wait until the completion of restoration works. Wishing to bring the palace back to life, they opened its doors to art and artists — as former owners had once done. Cultural activities carried out by the owners and the Struga Palace Foundation continue the tradition of the Aufrith family from the interwar period. During that time, the palace was filled in summer with musicians and singers from the Berlin Opera, as well as artists and writers. Operas and theatrical performances were staged in the ballroom, and among the guests were Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Mann and Georg Grosz.
Since 2012, artistic activities have continued through the organization of concerts,
performances, exhibitions, presentations and artist residencies. The events held to date have demonstrated that the palace interiors form an extraordinary gallery space, where contemporary art harmoniously inhabits the historic walls, creating a unique atmosphere and a distinctive dialogue between works of past generations and art created today.
The History of Struga Palace
Struga Palace is a site of exceptional historical and architectural value, with a remarkably preserved decorative interior. The origins of the building date back to the 14th century, when a residential knight’s tower was erected in the village of Adelsbach by Ulrich von Schoff. In the early 15th century, the tower was expanded into a single-wing fortified manor house, and during the Renaissance the von Czettritz family carried out further enlargement, giving the structure its present quadrilateral form.
The owners did not limit themselves to architectural expansion — with considerable ambition they commissioned rich and diverse decorative paintings on walls, vaults and ceilings. For over 200 years, painters covered the interiors with successive layers of polychrome decoration. Early Renaissance murals were concealed beneath later layers of plaster and painting, creating a unique multi-layered decorative structure.
The pinnacle of decorative achievement is the Renaissance frieze in the Imperial Hall depicting portraits of 28 Emperors — 10 Roman Emperors and 18 Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire — revealed and conserved as part of ongoing research and conservation works.
During the Baroque period, subsequent owners, the von Kluge family, introduced stylistic modifications. The Imperial Hall was transformed into a ballroom. The Renaissance ceiling was replaced with a wooden, plastered and painted dome, and earlier decorations were partially concealed. This remarkable solution for a secular residence constitutes another unique element of the palace’s interior.
Despite the Baroque alterations, the original character of the building remained largely intact. Today, visitors can admire a well-preserved Renaissance knightly residence with clearly legible phases of reconstruction and an exceptionally rich painted ornamentation. Beneath successive layers of plaster, murals from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and 19th-century periods continue to be discovered. Even after more than twenty years of intensive research and conservation work, the process of restoring the palace’s former splendour remains ongoing.
The palace survived the Silesian Wars as well as both World Wars without major damage. It was only during the communist period (PRL) that severe devastation occurred, resulting in the loss of nearly all valuable ceilings and structural elements. For over two decades, the owners have consistently pursued efforts to preserve and restore this exceptional monument.
In 2017, the Struga Palace Foundation was established to strengthen the capacity to secure funding for rescue and conservation works. Since 2019, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments have supported the ongoing restoration efforts through financial grants. Private donors, contributions through the 1.5% tax allocation, and all visitors to the palace also contribute to saving this extraordinary heritage site.
Agnieszka Chmura-Wieczorek
President of the Struga Palace Foundation