INTERWOVEN. Barbara Brukalska, Helena Syrkus and the Networks of Modernism - Instytut Pileckiego

Exhibition Opening at the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław

25 June 2026, 18.00
Opening of the Exhibition “INTERWOVEN. Barbara Brukalska, Helena Syrkus and the Networks of Modernism”
Museum of Architecture in Wrocław
Bernardyńska 7, 50-156 Wrocław

Architecture is about building relationships - between buildings and their surroundings, and between the people who create architecture and those who use it. Adopting this perspective, the exhibition explores architecture through the lens of local and international networks, professional connections, and friendships tested by history and political choices. It reveals both the strength and fragility of these ties in uncertain times.

The exhibition focuses on two architects: Barbara Brukalska (1899–1980) and Helena Syrkus (1900–1982). Associated with the avant-garde Praesens group and the International Congresses of Modern Architecture (CIAM), they were among the most important figures of European modernism. Their lives unfolded against the backdrop of the geopolitical upheavals of the 20th century, running in parallel and intersecting repeatedly before personal decisions ultimately led them in different directions.

Through photographs, drawings, and films - many of which are being presented to the public for the first time - the exhibition showcases the lives and achievements of both architects. However, this is not a conventional monographic exhibition. The stories of Brukalska and Syrkus serve as a starting point for reflecting on the fate of the avant-garde in Central Europe during the turbulent 20th century, as well as on architecture as a relational discipline shaped by the circulation of people and ideas. This perspective is further developed through contemporary artworks created specifically for the exhibition: a sound composition by Barbara Kinga Majewska and a textile work by Alicja Bielawska, in which the architects and their stories are woven together once again

The materials presented in the exhibition come from the collections of Polish and international institutions, primarily the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław, the Museum of Art in Łódź, gta Archiv ETH Zurich, Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin, RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History, and the National Museum in Warsaw, as well as from private collections.

INTERWOVEN. Barbara Brukalska, Helena Syrkus and the Networks of Modernism
25 June – 4 October 2026
Museum of Architecture in Wrocław, Bernardyńska 7

Curators: Dr. Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk, Aleksandra Kędziorek
Organizer: Pilecki Institute
Main Exhibition Partner: Museum of Architecture in Wrocław

The exhibition was developed as part of the Exercising Modernity programme.

Exhibition Design: Studio ŚŃŃ – Tomasz Świetlik, Nana Ciastoń, Maciej Chodziński

Media Partners: TVP Kultura, Program 3 Polskiego Radia, Architektura i Biznes, Vogue Polska Living, Zwierciadło, Autoportret, Tygodnik Powszechny, Magazyn SZUM, Notes Na 6 Tygodni.