Museum of Warsaw: History, art and an engaged dialogue with the city

By Signe Hansen | Photos: ©T. Kaczor

The Museum of Warsaw is more than just an institution that looks after collections. Aside from presenting exceptional exhibitions and the atmospheric interiors of Old Town tenement houses, the museum actively participates in a conversation about the identity and future of the capital city. Its mission is to support dialogue about Warsaw as a dynamic community that never stops changing. Here, history is not a closed chapter but rather a starting point for reflection on the present.

Through exhibitions, educational programmes, city walks and debates, the Museum of Warsaw encourages conversations about memory, migration, urban transformations and everyday rituals. The exhibition spaces become a meeting place where the past meets the present, and Warsaw’s residents can find in the museum’s collections a fragment of their own stories.

This approach is highlighted by the ongoing participatory process connected with preparations for the 2026 jubilee exhibition marking the museum’s 90th anniversary. A shared reflection on the phenomenon of Warsaw is to serve as a pretext for discussing what distinguishes the city today and what emotions we associate with it.

“We don’t want to talk about Warsaw solely from the perspective of curators and researchers. We want to listen to the voices of its residents – those who co-create the city every day”, says Karolina Ziębińska, director of the Museum of Warsaw.

Museum of Warsaw: History, art and an engaged dialogue with the city

One of the vital elements of this approach is the development of tools that make it easier to connect with the public. The new audio guide for the Things of Warsaw permanent exhibition, created in collaboration with the British Council as part of the City Debate project, allows visitors to explore the exhibition in a more personal and interactive way. Everyday objects – cups, tickets, clothing or toys – become witnesses to the lives of the city’s inhabitants and, at the same time, an inspiration for conversations about the contemporary experience of the city.

Thanks to the network of ten branches scattered across Warsaw, the museum is always close to people and local stories. Each of the branches contributes a different voice to the urban dialogue, from reflections on memory to observations of everyday life.

The Museum of Warsaw is an institution which not only preserves the past but, first and foremost, takes an active part in the present – listening to the city and giving it a voice.

Museum of Warsaw: History, art and an engaged dialogue with the city