As part of the new initiative Friend of a Friend (FOAF), eight prominent contemporary art galleries in Warsaw will host their counterparts from Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, The Hague, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Paris, Prague, Vienna and Zürich. Based on dialogue, the resulting collective exhibitions will feature Polish and international artists.
The concept behind FOAF is inspired by the Condo initiative, the first edition of which was held in London in 2016. Condo is based on the principle of friendly collaboration, rather than competition, which is often associated with the art market. The event not only succeeded in establishing an innovative platform for the presentation of contemporary art, but also an model of exchanges that provides an alternative to art fairs.
By bringing this model to Warsaw, FOAF offers a local audience the possibility to enjoy works by international artists – some of which have not exhibited in Poland before – and compare their achievements to the works of their Polish counterparts. At the same time foreign guests (gallerists, artists, as well as collectors, curators and journalists) are given an opportunity to explore and discover Warsaw’s art scene as well as to place it in a broader international context.