In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation Receives the 2026 Silesian Cultural Award

On 10 October 2026, at the Schauspielhaus in Hanover, the In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation received the Special Prize of the Silesian Cultural Award, presented by the German state of Lower Saxony. We were recognised for creating in Sokołowsko “one of Europe’s most important places for artistic dialogue and Polish-German cultural cooperation.”

We accept this honour with gratitude and a renewed commitment to safeguarding our shared European heritage and creating spaces for dialogue between people and nations through art.

For the past 19 years, Sokołowsko – formerly Görbersdorf – has taught us that caring for heritage requires attentiveness to every layer of history: past and present, Polish and German, preserved in architecture, landscape and local stories. The story of In Situ (Latin for “in place”) in Sokołowsko began in 2007, when artists Bożenna Biskupska and Zygmunt Rytka, together with Zuzanna Fogtt, undertook the restoration of Dr Brehmer’s Sanatorium – a pioneering centre for the treatment of lung diseases that became a model for sanatoria in Davos.

Since then, we have been developing the International Laboratory of Culture – a place where art meets everyday life. Festivals, artist residencies, exhibitions, education, the restoration of the sanatorium and the care of archives, including the Krzysztof Kieślowski Archive, bring artists, residents and audiences together in a shared endeavour.

We thank everyone who has contributed their talent, knowledge, presence and support to In Situ over the years – artists, colleagues, partners and institutions.

We thank the organisers, and in particular the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Martin Kremer, for his moving tribute and for recognising the idea that has guided our work for more than two decades – the belief that culture is a space for dialogue, for building trust and for taking shared responsibility for the future.

Acceptance Speech

A Place That Remembers the Future

We accept the Silesian Cultural Award with profound gratitude.

We see it not only as an honour for the In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation, but above all as recognition of the idea that has guided our work for more than two decades – the belief that culture is a space for dialogue, for building trust and for taking shared responsibility for the future.

This belief grew out of the artistic vision of Bożenna Biskupska – artist and founder of the Foundation – for whom a work of art extends beyond a painting, a sculpture or an exhibition to encompass place, memory, relationships and time.

The In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation emerged from this vision.

Not as an institution organising events, but as a long-term artistic and social project.

Sokołowsko became our home.

The former Dr Hermann Brehmer’s Sanatorium – a landmark in the history of European medicine, marked by the upheavals of the twentieth century.

When we began its revitalisation, we wanted to do more than save an exceptional historic building. We wanted to create a place where history becomes a starting point for dialogue, creativity and collaboration. We believe that heritage remains alive only when it helps to build the future.

This is why Sokołowsko became the International Laboratory of Culture.

For almost twenty years, artists, architects, musicians, filmmakers, curators, researchers, conservators, residents and partners from Poland, Germany and many other European countries have been coming together here.

Through festivals, residency programmes, research and educational activities, we create a space in which art, heritage preservation and international cooperation complement one another.

For us, Sokołowsko is a starting point for a conversation about Europe – understood not as a territory, but as a community of values, memory, dialogue and responsibility towards future generations.

For centuries, Silesia has reminded us that history can divide, but it can also lead to reconciliation. That is why we believe culture remains one of the foundations of democracy and of our shared responsibility for the future.

We accept the Silesian Cultural Award as a commitment to continue safeguarding our shared European heritage and creating spaces for dialogue between people and nations through art. We believe that every generation inherits this responsibility anew.

The words of Bożenna Biskupska best express this idea:

“I am interested in art that leaves a trace not only in space, but above all in people. The most important works are not confined to form – they remain a living process.”

And those of Zuzanna Fogtt, President of the In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation:

“I grew up watching an artistic vision become a community. Today, I know that the greatest work is not the restored walls, but the people who, through culture, learn to trust one another.”

We thank everyone who has contributed their talent, knowledge, presence and support to In Situ over the years – artists, colleagues, partners and institutions.