Night of Museums 2025

EXPLORE
/ ticket for the permanent exhibition: PLN 1
/ ticket to THE SHIPYARD exhibition: PLN 1
We invite you to two exhibitions – each one a highlight in its own right. Additionally, on this special night, three new objects will premiere in the permanent exhibition. You’ll find them in Room D, where we talk about martial law.
The permanent exhibition has already been visited by over 8 million people. It tells the story of those who refused to live without freedom under the Soviet protectorate and behind the Iron Curtain – a barrier that blocked interpersonal connection, travel, the exchange of ideas, scientific development, and cultural sharing. Many of these people paid a high price for their dreams. How did the post-war world order collapse without bloodshed? Find out at the permanent exhibition.
The exhibition SHIPYARD | Man. Industry. City complements this story. Through numerous exhibits, it explores high politics, industry, and the flow of energy between the shipyard and the city. But at the centre of the narrative are not ships, but people. There are no democratic traditions in the world without the legacy of Solidarity, born 45 years ago in the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk in August 1980.

LISTEN
TOMEK LIPIŃSKI – ACOUSTICALLY
/ 8:00-8:30 pm
/ permanent exhibition, room G (1st floor)
/ free admission
Tomek Lipiński is one of the most iconic rebels of Polish rock.
Since the late 1970s, his work has given voice to a generation longing for freedom, independence, and authenticity in the bleak, police-controlled reality of the Polish People’s Republic. He is the founder of Tilt and co-founder of Brygada Kryzys and Fotoness – bands that not only brought punk, post-punk, and new wave to Poland, but also inspired those unwilling to live by imposed rules. In 1982, Brygada Kryzys recorded their legendary album, now considered a milestone in Polish rock. The communist authorities quickly saw the band as a threat: they faced restrictions on performances, and the album was withdrawn from circulation. Yet their music survived underground, inspiring future generations to resist the system. Tilt became more than just music – it was a manifesto of freedom. Songs like “Jeszcze będzie przepięknie” (It will be beautiful again) and “Mówię ci, że…” (I’m telling you that…) became anthems of independence, both during the final years of the People’s Republic and in the time of democratic transformation.

WALK
SUBJECTIVE WALK WITH TOMEK LIPIŃSKI
/ 8:45-10:00 pm
/ on the Night of Museums, purchase a ticket to the permanent exhibition (PLN 1) and take an entrance ticket (free of charge) at the ECS box office
/ the number of entrance tickets is limited to 25 and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis; box offices open at 6:30 pm
/ meeting in front of the entrance to room G (1st floor)
Tomek Lipiński – rock vocalist, musician, composer, guitarist, lyricist, film music author, and rebel – will guide visitors through the permanent exhibition.
We call this a “subjective walk” because the route follows his personal path of memories and stories, with a focus on the musical and countercultural threads that helped shape the spirit of resistance and freedom.

CREATE
WORKSHOP FOR EVERYONE
/ 7:00-9:00 pm
/ winter garden (ground floor)
/ free admission
We invite young people and adults – and families with children too! Together, we’ll take on some of the most iconic lyrics from Polish songs of the 1980s. Join us to create your own rock bandana, decorated with your favourite musical quote. We’ll also be releasing rock slogans into the world as pins – come, choose a design, and make your own.

DISCOVER
The World of Solidarity Television
/ 7:00-10:00 pm
/ media library (1st floor)
/ free admission
Discover archival equipment from the ECS collection – cameras, video recorders, editing sets, and monitors once used by Video Studio Gdańsk, Poland’s first and longest-running independent film and television producer. These are extraordinary relics for curious adults and children alike. Come and see the equipment and hear remarkable stories about the work of independent filmmakers – from the aftermath of the victorious strike at the Gdańsk Shipyard in August 1980, through the martial law period, to the protests of 1988 and the first partially free elections on 4 June 1989.
The stories will be told by Waldemar Płocharski – opposition activist, co-founder of the underground independent television, journalist, and producer of several hundred films and programmes – and Wojciech Ostrowski – cameraman, filmmaker, and photographer, who captured, among other events, the 1988 strikes with an opposition camera.

GET TO KNOW
ONE OBJECT GALLERY
/ 7:00 pm – 1:00 am
/ winter garden (ground floor)
/ free admission
This exhibit was the stuff of dreams in the 1980s – a black, heavy leather jacket, a symbol of youthful rebellion, freedom, and defiance against the greyness of life in the Polish People’s Republic.
This one came from Düsseldorf. It’s covered in pins from the 1980s, shouting slogans of peace, resistance, and subcultural identity. No label? That says it all. Like most things that truly mattered back then, it was acquired through unofficial channels.
But this is more than just fashion – it’s a starting point for a story about independence, music, and street style as a manifesto.

TATTOO
/ 7:00-11:00 pm
/ winter garden (ground floor)
/ free admission
The designs will draw inspiration from 1980s music and street graffiti, which symbolised resistance to the authorities during that era, and are featured in the permanent exhibition at the ECS. Created with hypoallergenic professional paints, the tattoos will last for approximately three days.

PHOTOGRAPHY
INSTAPOINT + DJ SET
/ 7:00 pm – 1:00 am
/ winter garden (ground floor)
/ free admission
Take a picture of yourself, post it on your profile, add the #ecsgdansk hashtag.
Good beats will be provided by DJ So So Black 🙂

WATCH
WIELKA MAJÓWKA (GREAT MAY WEEKEND)
/ 7:30-9:30 pm
/ auditorium (ground floor)
/ free admission
“Wielka Majówka” (directed by Krzysztof Rogulski, 1981) is a film that exudes freedom, youthful rebellion, and untamed energy. What makes it unique is its feisty, slightly anarchist spirit, but above all, its incredible soundtrack. The film has become one of the best visual tributes to Maanam’s music; songs such as “Stoję, czuję się świetnie” (I’m Standing, Feeling Great) and “Ta noc do innych jest niepodobna” (This Night Is Not Like Any Other) not only perfectly match the story of Rysiek’s adventure – a boy from a juvie – but also build its rhythm and atmosphere.

discussion after the film | Krzysztof Kornacki, PhD, Prof. UG
Film expert, employee of the Department of Culture and Art at the Institute of Polish Philology. He specialises in the history of Polish cinema and is the co-founder and first president of the Film Discussion Club of the University of Gdańsk, “Miłość blondynki” (Love of a Blonde). He is a member of the Editorial Board of the audiovisual culture magazine “Panoptikum” and has been awarded the Medal of the National Education Commission. He is the author of the books: “Polish Cinema and Catholicism 1945–1970”, nominated for the Bolesław Michałek Award, and “»Ashes and Diamonds« by Andrzej Wajda”, which received the Fredro’s Quill Award for the best book of 2011. He is also co-editor of the volume “Searching for and Degrading the Sacrum in Cinema”.

DANCE
SILENT DISCO
/ 8:00-11:00 pm
/ library (1st floor)
/ free admission
Have you ever danced in a library? Yes, yes, we all know you’re supposed to be quiet in a library, but this time we’ll be dancing with headphones on. That way, we can all have fun together, yet enjoy our own personal soundtrack. The music? It’s all 80s! What will you choose? Polish hits or foreign ones?

SING
KARAOKE
/ 8:30-10:30 pm
/ multifunctional hall (ground floor)
/ free admission
Are you ready to journey back to the 80s, when music wasn’t just art but a form of rebellion? Come and sing your favourite hits, songs that not only entertained but also touched hearts. From Maanam to Lady Pank and Perfect, karaoke will give you the chance to discover the hidden meanings behind some lyrics and learn how artists fought against the ever-present censorship.
Before you step in, make sure to check out a unique exhibit – a leather biker jacket from the 1980s, decorated with pins bearing peace, subculture, and anti-establishment slogans from that time, in Polish, Danish, and Finnish.
Karaoke will be hosted by Grzegorz Kwaśny from the KaraLovers team – guitarist, singer, and a graduate of the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk.