ZWIĄZEK ARTYSTÓW ZACHODNIEJ BIAŁORUSI W BIAŁYMSTOKU
Association of West Belarusian Artists in Białystok

Author(s): Joanna Tomalska
Subject(s): History
Published by: Instytut Badań nad Dziedzictwem Kulturowym Europy
Summary/Abstract: Before WWII, Białystok was an industrial provincial town. Cultural lifewas not very advanced here; there were no art galleries or museums. Local exhibitionswere held in cafés, school halls or the garden pavilion, and the mostimportant and biggest ones, in the representative hall of the Branicki Palace.After Soviet invaders occupied the town in September 1939, the authorities usedlocal artists and those who came here from different parts of Poland in searchof shelter from war to make a great number of propaganda portraits of politicalleaders, banners and decorations for numerous state celebrations. For thepurpose of propaganda and in order to raise “a new, socialist member of thecommunity”, institutions were established in the town such as the Museum ofFine Arts, the House of Painters, and the House of Folk Arts. The Circuit Houseof Socialist Culture and the Białystok branch of the Association of West BelarusianArtists were also formed very soon. Being member of the organizationmade it possible to obtain e.g., profitable orders from the state, allotments ofgoods in short supply, and authorities’ favor. Today, the activity of the groupof Białystok artists in the years 1939–1941 is only known from press notes andtwo preserved catalogs from exhibitions in Brest and Moscow. Nothing has remainedfrom the works of art created in Białystok in that time; they have beendestroyed or translocated and we know nothing of their later history.

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