The first edition of the project took place in April 2018. The idea of “FOAF” is close to that of “Condo” (organised, up until now, in London, Mexico City, New York, São Paulo and Shanghai),“Various Others” held in Munich and “Okey Dokey”, taking place in Cologne and Düsseldorf.
The “FOAF” formula is based on sharing the exhibition space of local galleries with foreign ones. One of the aims of the project is to create a different model for the presentation of contemporary art, complementary to the art fairs, and to establish new relations and network within the Polish art scene.
“FOAF” enables local audiences to interact with the works of international artists, whose works were often not exhibited in Poland so far. In addition, thanks to the cooperation of Polish and foreign gallerists, it allows to combine their achievements with the works of Polish artists.
This year’s “FOAF” will involve nine most-active Warsaw galleries (BWA Warszawa, Foksal Gallery Foundation, LETO, Piktogram, Pola Magnetyczne, Dawid Radziszewski, Raster, Stereo and Wschód) and sixteen foreign galleries (from Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States).
Thanks to the joint initiative of the founders and organisers of “FOAF”, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and its Society of Friends of the Museum, the “Friends Art Fund” was founded – an award allowing for the acquisition of a selected work presented within the Warsaw edition of “FOAF” for the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. In 2018, the works of David Flaugher and Sean Mullins, artists collaborating with New York’s Lomex Gallery, were selected for acquisition. In 2019, thanks to the generous support of the sponsor, the award will be presented for the second time. Its winner, selected by a committee nominated by the Warsaw MoMA, will be announced during the opening of “FOAF” on April 6, 2019.
“FOAF” is organised by Stereo and Wschód galleries. This year's edition is co-organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute – a national cultural institution whose mission is to promote Polish contemporary art through active participation in an international cultural exchange. The Institute’s Culture.pl portal offers a daily information service covering key events related to Polish culture around the world: In addition to information on events organised in Poland and abroad, the portal features numerous artist profiles, reviews, essays, descriptive articles and information about cultural institutions. In 2019, “FOAF” is supported by British Council Poland and the Cultural Office of the Capital City of Warsaw.
Opening: April 6–7th, 2019
Exhibitions open: until April 27th, 2019
List of host and guest galleries:
| BWA Warszawa | Gianni Manhattan (Wiedeń), Kristina Kite (Los Angeles) |
| LETO | Pink Summer (Genua) |
| Fundacja Galerii Foksal | The Box (Los Angeles) |
| Piktogram | Emalin (Londyn), Paul Soto / Park View (Los Angeles / Bruksela) |
| Pola Magnetyczne | Parisa Kind (Frankfurt nad Menem) |
| Dawid Radziszewski | Nuno Centeno (Porto), The Sunday Painter (Londyn) |
| Raster | Mujin - to (Tokio), Temnikova & Kasela (Tallin) |
| Stereo | Bureau (Nowy Jork), Union Pacific (Londyn) |
| Wschód | Scheife Zähne (Berlin), LC Queisser (Tbilisi) |