FRIDAY, 22/ 5/ 2026 AT 6 PM
CROATIAN ARCHITECTS' ASSOCIATION (UHA)/ ZAGREB SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTS (DAZ),
ZAGREB, TRG BANA JOSIPA JELAČIĆA 3/I, ZAGREB
We are inaugurating the WHW Akademija 2026 program with a lecture, The Right to Glean, by curator Sebastian Cichocki, who is a resident professor at WHW Akademija this year.
“Gleaning” traditionally refers to the act of collecting surplus crops following a harvest and redistributing them to people in need. The act of gleaning was common from biblical times up until the 18th century. It was declared illegal by the British Courts in 1788, which decreed that “no person has, at common law, a right to glean in the harvest field.” Yet this resourceful practice remained a crucial survival strategy for those marginalized by the emerging forces of Capitalism: widows and orphans, the poor and the expropriated, newcomers and exiles.
This presentation builds on this concept, which serves as an artistic subject, a metaphor, and a curatorial methodology for exploring art’s relationship with society and nature. Sebastian Cichocki will discuss his attempts to use the tactics of gleaning to do things with art. What constitutes an exhibition? Can we cultivate it as if it were a garden? What should be preserved? How can you be truthful to yourself? And how can you be truthful to stories from tormented lands?
Entry is free, and the lecture will be held in English. We thank Croatian Architects' Association (UHA) for hosting the program.
Sebastian Cichocki is Head of the Possible Art Studio–Postartistic Practices at the University of Arts in Poznań (UAP), Poland, and a senior curator at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN). His curatorial projects include the 40th EVA International–Ireland's Biennial of Contemporary Art, 15th Biennale of Young Artists in Skopje, The Postartistic Assembly at the 14th Gwangju Biennale and Primary Forms at the 3rd Thailand Biennale in Chiang Rai. He is also a founding member of the Forum for the Future of Culture (Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw) and the Office for Postartistic Services, which maintains networks of art workers who contribute to pro-democratic and anti-authoritarian political struggles.
WHW Akademija is funded by Kontakt Art Collection, ERSTE Foundation, Foundation for Arts Initiatives, Trust for Mutual Understanding
The program is supported by:Office for Culture and Civil Society of the City of ZagrebKultura Nova Foundation
