It’s normally the right accusing the left of being easily offended and engaging in cancel culture. But in Poland, artists can be arrested and face trial purely for offending someone’s feelings…

In the first episode of season 2, we discuss art and censorship in today’s Poland. We’ll talk about Poland’s blasphemy/'insult laws' and their use by the current government, the takeover of arts institutions by the ruling coalition - but also about arts-based resistance.

To explore these topics, we’re speaking to the brilliant Marta Zboralska - art historian and lecturer at Oxford University.

Whether you’re interested in debates around free speech and censorship, or simply want to learn more about contemporary Polish art and artists - you’ll want to check out this one.

Further reading:

• Cultural Control: Censorship and Suppression of the Arts in Poland, report by the Artistic Freedom Initiative: https://artisticfreedominitiative.org/about-us/media/reports-resources/

• Poland’s 'insult laws' and the threat to free speech: https://notesfrompoland.com/2018/08/21/polands-insult-laws-and-the-threat-to-free-speech/

• Dorota Nieznalska's Passion - A Decade of Judgment on Artistic Freedom in Poland: https://culture.pl/en/article/dorota-nieznalskas-passion-a-decade-of-judgment-on-artistic-freedom-in-poland

• Piotr Uklański, 'The Nazis': https://www.artsy.net/artwork/piotr-uklanski-the-nazis-1

• Maurizio Cattelan's Sculpture of the Pope Struck by a Meteorite: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-revisiting-maurizio-cattelans-sculpture-pope-struck-meteorite

• The pope-slave? Jerzy Kalina responds to Maurizio Cattelan: https://www.architekturaibiznes.pl/en/controversial-installation-in-front-of-the-national-museum-in-warsaw.-jerzy-calina-responds-to-maurizio-cattelan.,21977.html

• Tadeusz Kantor, 'The Letter': https://culture.pl/en/work/the-letter-tadeusz-kantor

• Polish LGBT activists found not guilty of offending religious feelings with 'rainbow Virgin Mary': https://notesfrompoland.com/2021/03/02/polish-lgbt-activists-found-not-guilty-of-offending-religious-feelings-with-rainbow-virgin-mary/

• Josef Robakowski, 'View From My Window': https://www.artfund.org/supporting-museums/art-weve-helped-buy/artwork/12170/view-from-my-window-1978-1999

• Daniel's Rycharski work: https://artmuseum.pl/en/kolekcja/praca/rycharski-daniel-strachy

• Karol's Radziszewski work: https://culture.pl/en/artist/karol-radziszewski

• Malgorzata's Mirga-Tas work: https://culture.pl/en/artist/malgorzata-mirga-tas

• Maja ∀. Ngom, ‘All that they hide from Themselves will be revealed to Them’: https://centrala-space.org.uk/exhibitions/maja-%E2%88%80-ngom-all-that-they-hide-from-themselves-will-be-revealed-to-them/