More than 10 million Americans have Polish roots. Chicago used to be known as the city with second largest number of Polish inhabitants (with a population reaching an estimated 1 million people of Polish descent) after Warsaw. That was before London overtook it, following Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004. The most recent large wave of Polish immigration to the US came after the communist regime’s crackdown on the democratic opposition in connection with the introduction of martial law in 1981.

The next story is about a remarkable, contemporary artist named Maria Anto (Maria Czarnecka). Anto was a late 20th-century Polish painter who created a series of fantastic-realism paintings depicting animals, people and a world of surrealistic surroundings. Her pieces have been compared to artists such as Henri Rousseau, Giorgio de Chirico and Frida Kahlo. Until recently there was an opportunity for the visual appreciation of her works at the Zachęta National Gallery in Warsaw (which ended February 4, 2018). It was the biggest showcase ever of her works from the 1960s and 1970s. While that exhibition is now over, stay with us to enter the make-believe world of Maria Anto. Anto’s paintings are mostly characterized by dark colors illuminated by bright features. The scenes and their surroundings have mysterious auras, altogether creating something extraordinary: a marvelous combination of realism and surrealism, as realistic scenes are intertwined with magical effects and intricate details.

The years prior to the first world war and the inter-war period are deemed by many film experts as a golden era for Polish cinema. During the first world war movie luminaries such as Pola Negri and the creator of Poland’s first animation film Feliks Kuczkowski made their mark on the scene. However, the great depression of the 1920’s nearly wiped out the movie industry all together. The scene was kept alive with imports and low budget domestic productions. But cinema was truly reinvigorated in the 30’s, starting with the release of “Everyone Can Fall in Love” of Poland’s first film with sound in 1933. The production of comedies, melo-dramas, historical, avant garde and Yiddish films throughout the decade drove the industry on to greater strength. The glory years were sadly short-lived, with the German occupation in 1939 leading to a banning of films made in Poland and the death of many filmmakers. The nail in the coffin arrived during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, when all cinemas and copies of films were destroyed.

He is considered by many of his compatriots to have been something of a Leonardo da Vinci of the 19th century. Stanisław Wyspiański and his many talents encompassed not only painting and sculpting. He was also a significant, quoted and valued Polish writer who was deeply involved in the theatre, and worked fastidiously in architecture, renovating monuments and creating furnishings amongst other things. Read the story of this tremendously talented man from the secession times.

 I'm searching for Mike Tyson. Late afternoon. Frantic jabbering: “Damn it you fool, where are those earmuffs?” I search my bag like airport security. No go. Hotel staff is watching me warily. After half a dozen Mike Tyson 'Black Energy' drinks (the promotion of which was the reason for his being in Poland) I was floating through the Westin Hotel lobby like a butterfly and buzzing like a bee.  He'd been a prince at the press conference... 

The Polish art scene saw significant changes after Poland regained independence in 1918. National Liberation had been the style which had dominated for more than a century but now artists could focus more on the process of rebuilding the nation.

No grand idea was ever born in a conference, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there.” The words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, which may be an unduly cynical place to start or a welcome dash of reality, depending on one’s point of view. Be that as it may, many continue to set great store by the potential of international conferences to offer new solutions to hitherto intractable problems. And they don’t come much more intractable, it seems, than peace in the Middle East. Thus, Poland enters the fray with plans to hold an international conference on the subject in Warsaw in February.

Mazowsze’s success in the matter owes to Mira Zimińska-Sygietyńska. Her professional experience and intuition for beauty have caused forgotten and unknown costumes to raise viewers’ admiration to this day. Offering unforgettable aesthetic pleasures, they also provide a source of knowledge about the history of Polish clothing.

The first wave of Armenians immigrated to Poland as early as in the 12th century. With time, they became increasingly numerous in Eastern Poland, where the city of Lwów became their cultural center from early on.

It is rare to see two siblings as talented and successful – and on the same artistic level – as the Gierymski brothers were, and their story is a worthy chapter in the history of art.

Chopin is one of Poland’s favourite sons, for his acclaimed, groundbreaking music and its undoubtedly Polish character. And although born, raised and educated in his home country, it was when he travelled west that he really started to make a name for himself.