“That one video killed the bill,” said Jerzy Kwaśniewski, president of the Ordo Iuris Institute, after the release of a video produced by Deputy Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska. In the recording, a woman identified as Gosia Bartosik spoke about her financial struggles, her in-between position, and the need to seek additional sources of income. The video, intended to draw attention to the situation of artists, instead sparked a wave of criticism.
The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage recently launched a new social media series titled “The Minister Visits Artists.” The first episode, shared by Marta Cienkowska, was meant to showcase the everyday challenges faced by people working in the arts. Rather than generating sympathy, however, the video quickly became the subject of widespread criticism.
The featured guest was “painter” Gosia Bartosik. The artist spoke about the difficulties of supporting herself solely through artistic work. She admitted that she had only recently obtained health insurance after taking a one-eighth-time teaching position at an arts high school.
“You can’t live on that. It’s not my main job. I take on various commissions to pay for my home. My child is growing up; he’s 11 years old. Boys eat a lot and outgrow their shoes very quickly,”
she said.
Bartosik also emphasized that, in addition to her professional work and household responsibilities, she is constantly searching for extra sources of income.
“Apart from the job I go to and apart from my ‘full-time job at home,’ I always have to figure something out. If I don’t have an invitation to a long-term project, I’m constantly looking for ways to earn money,”
she explained.
The video also touched on the sale of her paintings. Bartosik noted that potential buyers often try to negotiate the prices of her works, making it even more difficult to earn a satisfactory income.
The recording quickly spread across social media and prompted numerous reactions from politicians and commentators. Critics also pointed to the artwork visible in the background of the video, some of which they described as highly explicit.
Law and Justice (PiS) MEP Maciej Wąsik wrote:
“Minister Cienkowska visited an artist complaining about a lack of commissions to justify pension subsidies. Why doesn’t she simply buy the artist’s work and hang it in her own home?”
Jerzy Kwaśniewski, president of the Ordo Iuris Institute, responded even more sharply:
“They have harmed artists. This one video killed the bill. Hard-working people from every profession are supposed to chip in to support this artist? Only a detached radical could support that.”
Confederation leader Sławomir Mentzen also weighed in:
“Minister Cienkowska spent a long time looking for an artist she wanted to present as talented, underappreciated, and in need of support; someone who absolutely must receive public money for a pension. And she found the creator of this work.”
In the remainder of his post, Mentzen questioned the arguments for providing additional support to artists.
“Is this the great art that I supposedly fail to understand because I’m an uneducated fool lacking sensitivity? Is this the art that is essential to the survival of the Polish nation? Is this what I’m supposed to pay for through my taxes? Is this the person whose pension I’m expected to fund? Seriously? Keep your hands off our money and get a real job!”
Journalist Maciej Kożuszek also commented on the controversy, recalling earlier remarks by the ministry about the role of artists in promoting Poland abroad.
“‘Do you know that artists build Poland’s soft power abroad?’ Minister Cienkowska said recently. But words are not enough; you have to demonstrate it in practice. Well, she did.”