Art stations fundation - by Grażyna Kulczyk

She began building her private collection, initially centred around Polish art, while she was still in law school. As she expanded her collection, it became increasingly international in composition, providing Polish audiences with new opportunities to come face-to-face with works by some of the world’s most acclaimed artists. Collecting art is more than merely a private pleasure for her, it is also a public service mission. Her desire to share her collection with a wider audience gave rise to the Kulczyk Foundation, which grew into the Art Stations Foundation by Grazyna Kulczyk and the art gallery located in the heart of Stary Browar.

Grażyna Kulczyk’s largest project in Poland is Stary Browar – which introduced both a dynamic commercial space and new cultural activity into the city centre. It resulted from the revitalization and expansion of the historic, nineteenth-century buildings of the Hugger Brewery, and from the outset was intended as a site for artistic activity. Today, Stary Browar is a place for growing new brands in Poland, and a site for exhibitions, a performance program and educational projects involving thousands of people each year. This urban complex has received numerous Polish and international awards.

The Art Stations Foundation by Grazyna Kulczyk is committed to the goal of continuously enriching the artistic life pulsating in the heart of the Stary Browar, arranging meetings and providing the public with opportunities for contact with the work of many prominent Polish and international artists. The Foundation’s realization of these plans includes bringing art to the public in commercial spaces, examples of which include the artworks from the GK Collection located within Stary Browar and the Blow Up Hall hotel, and in the courtyard outside the gallery building.

Alongside the exhibitions it holds, the Art Stations Foundation not only organizes a performance programme that acquaints audiences with the latest trends in avant-garde dance and presents its achievements, it also supports the professional development of young Polish choreographers and dancers.

Since 2007, every autumn Stary Browar has held the Art & Fashion Festival – an innovative initiative by Grazyna Kulczyk featuring an Open University formula that combines the art, creativity and handicraft displayed by the creations of today’s fashion industry and students of fashion design. The festival’s educational program includes workshops for young artists and fashion theorists (in areas such as Fashion Design, Fashion Drawing, Writing Fashion, Jewellery Design, Fashion Photography, and Fashion Video), as well as the AFF Open University. 

Grazyna Kulczyk is known for her bold and original projects, as well as for her commitment to effectively carrying them out. She is not afraid to take risky decisions or to experiment, which are valuable qualities in a collector of contemporary art. Her involvement and promotion of culture and art reach far beyond Poland’s borders, as evidenced by her support of the Kunsthalle Zurich and membership in the Tate Modern Russian and Eastern Europe Acquisition Committee. All Grazyna Kulczyk’s investments combine business and art in a creative, yet highly rational way. “50 50” – this simple equation describes the way in which her modern style of doing business and her social involvement intersect with the promotion of culture.