- event
- library
- free admission
The Story of a Certain Collection
/ Night of Museums. Prologue
What do objects tell us about people, time, and culture? Join us for a talk with Kora Tea Kowalska – an archaeologist, cultural studies scholar, and theorist and practitioner of collecting. Our guest’s essay “Look Under Your Feet: On Collecting Objects” [„Patrz pod nogi. O zbieraniu rzeczy”] has been shortlisted for the Nike Literary Award (2025).
The discussion will be inspired by fashion of the 1970s and 1980s, viewed from the perspectives of collecting, design, and the social changes that shaped the aesthetics and everyday life of that time.
Kora Tea Kowalska will introduce participants to the world of objects – unconventional, often discarded, yet today gaining new meaning. Her talk will be enriched by a presentation of unique fashion and design pieces from her personal collection.
The event will have a relaxed and open format – we encourage conversation, questions, and direct engagement with the presented objects. It’s an opportunity not only to hear the story, but also to touch it and experience it in a tangible way.
The event will be hosted by Natalia Soszyńska – a communication strategist specializing in working with cultural institutions, a lecturer in literature collaborating with the University of the Third Age, and a curator of cultural projects.
This event serves as a prologue to the Night of Museums at ECS, dedicated to exploring how objects tell stories about people, time, and culture. Be sure to visit ECS on Saturday, May 16, from 6:00 PM to midnight – we’ll be waiting for you!
Kora Tea Kowalska | An archaeologist and cultural studies scholar, academic lecturer, and writer. She works at the intersection of the theory and practice of collecting, the history of material culture and design, and the documentation of postwar modernism. She collects discarded and overlooked objects, transforming them into installations and exhibitions. She also works as an antiques expert on a television program and publishes online as @odrzeczysklad. In 2024, she published the book “Look Under Your Feet: On Collecting Objects” [„Patrz pod nogi. O zbieraniu rzeczy”] (Karakter), nominated in 2025 for the Nike Literary Award and the Gdynia Literary Prize. She is the recipient of the Pomeranian Literary Award Wind from the Sea and a member of the Polish Writers’ Union. She lives in Gdańsk and is happiest in the forest.
21 August 2025, Warsaw, Marszalkowska Street, Kora Tea Kowalska, nominees for the NIKE Award.
Photo: Mateusz Skwarczek / Agencja Wyborcza.pl