From Tapestries to Performance – Joanna Hawrot’s Residency at Wawel
26–28.09.2025
The creation of a 3-meter work inspired by the tapestries from the Senate Hall of the Wawel Royal Castle, a costume for Marta Ziółek’s performance, and the workshop “Image as Source. Body as Medium” – this is how Joanna Hawrot realizes her artistic residency at Wawel, as part of the festival “Wawel is Yours!”.
This year’s edition focuses on the idea of artistic residency, both in historical and contemporary terms, reminding us that for centuries Wawel has been a place of encounters between creators, artists, and custodians of art. The castle opens itself to the voice of the present, bringing history and today’s art into dialogue. For three days (26–28 Sept 2025), the resident artists (Joanna Hawrot, Anna Orska, Alicja Śmietana), invited to work within the castle’s spaces, will present original interpretations of forgotten stories and reveal hidden meanings of historical treasures. In dialogue with history, architecture, and the atmosphere of Wawel, artistic actions will emerge that connect past and present, showing that the royal residence is not only a monument of history, but also a living laboratory of art.
For several months, Joanna Hawrot studied original Flemish textiles commissioned by Sigismund Augustus in Brussels in the mid-16th century. Confrontation with the historical fabric gave her a unique opportunity to create her own interpretative story.
– At first contact I was fascinated by the numerous animal motifs and the relationality within their world. Full of symbols and plant motifs, they express the Renaissance fascination with nature and inspirations drawn from medieval fairytale-like animal stories. The tapestries tell a story of the hunter-prey relationship, and it was precisely this theme that I decided to develop in the fabric I prepared – explains the artist.
Based on the Wawel originals, Joanna Hawrot created her own tapestry. Selected animals and scenes were placed in a designed landscape, resulting in a 3-meter composition in fabric. The color palette is equally deliberate: red and black, and black and white in various constellations and proportions.
The main costume designed by Hawrot refers to the figure of Anna Jagiellonka. Daughter of Sigismund I the Old and Bona Sforza, sister of Sigismund Augustus, and later Queen of Poland, she played a key role in a turbulent period of our history. Her reign coincided with a time of major political and social change, and her legacy continues to shape the image of Poland today. – I am impressed by her story, how she held power and resisted men. The world still needs such women, hence the idea of a contemporary version of Anna Jagiellonka – explains the artist. The photograph was taken by Zuzanna Krajewska, referencing the painting by Marcin Kober from the collection of the Wawel Royal Castle.
In the performance “Threshold of Silence” Marta Ziółek will embody the Queen. The performer will wield a flag as a manifesto, and her gown will serve as a contemporary tapestry. The hunting motif used by Hawrot influences the dramaturgy of the performance, which will be directed by Wojciech P. Onak, the artistic leader of the event.
The festival program also includes a workshop with the designer. Participants, under the guidance of Joanna Hawrot, in full concentration and entirely disconnected from technology, will spend five hours in dialogue with materials selected by the artist: fragments of fabrics, papers of various textures, graphic elements, and design semi-products. They will learn to look deeper, to uncover hidden meanings, and to translate visual stimuli into creative design decisions. Each participant will create their own moodboard – a personal map of impressions, emotions, and ideas. In this space, micro-prints, ornaments, mind maps, and intuitive collages will emerge. The result will be both a tangible object and the experience of transforming art into a personal visual language.
The festival “Wawel is Yours!” is also a symbolic complement to the autumn program of contemporary art exhibitions in reference to old art at the Wawel Royal Castle. In October 2025, the following exhibitions will be on view: Abakanowicz. Without Rules. Tapestries and Abakans in the Chambers, Or Maybe Something Else?, and the artistic intervention of Opałka.