Arkadiusz Półtorak

Arkadiusz Półtorak
Alma materJagiellonian University
Occupationscultural studies scholar,
curator,
art critic

Arkadiusz Półtorak is a cultural studies scholar, curator, and critic of visual and performing arts, assistant professor at the Department of Performance Studies, Jagiellonian University.[1]

Biography

In 2015 he obtained the scholarship of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.[1] Between 2015 and 2020 he was a holder of the ministerial “Diamond Grant” program.[1] In 2016 he graduated in Polish philology from the Jagiellonian University. In 2018 he graduated from De Appel Curatorial Programme in Amsterdam.[1][2] In 2021 he obtained doctorate in cultural and religious studies from the Jagiellonian University.[3]

He has collaborated with, among others, the CSW Zamek Ujazdowski and the Studio Gallery in Warsaw, the Arsenał Gallery in Białystok and the curated_by festival in Vienna (together with Goschka Gawlik).[1] In 2016 together with Leona Jacewska and Martyna Nowicka-Wojnowska he co-founded the independent space for contemporary art and music „Elementarz dla mieszkańców miast” in Kraków.[1] He has been the President of the Polish Section of International Association of Art Critics (AICA) from 2023.[1] In 2020–2023 he served as its Secretary-General.[1][2] He worked at the Institute of Media Arts, Pedagogical University of Kraków between 2019 and 2021.[1][3] Since 2022, he has been the supervisor of the Jagiellonian University's Performance Studies Students' Scientific Circle.[1][4] In 2024, he became a member of the Board of Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź and the jury of the Jerzy Stajuda Art Criticism Award.[2]

His research interests include the connections between contemporary artistic and curatorial practices and activism, political thought, and cultural policy; his research focuses particularly on practices under the banner of so-called new or experimental institutionalism.[1] He published, among others, in Szum[5] and Dwutygodnik.[6]

Together with Łucja Iwanczewska, he has co-organized conferences in the “Performatyka. Poza kanonem” series since 2022 and co-edited two publications in the series under the same title at Wiele Kropek Publishing House.[1]

He lives in Kraków.

Books

  • Konkretne abstrakcje. Taktyki i strategie afirmatywne w sztuce współczesnej. Warszawa: Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 2020.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Pracownicy i współpracownicy katedry". performatyka.polonistyka.uj.edu.pl. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Arkadiusz Półtorak". miejsce.asp.waw.pl. Archived from the original on 9 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Dr Arkadiusz Półtorak". ludzie.nauka.gov.pl. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Koło Naukowe Performatyków". performatyka.polonistyka.uj.edu.pl. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Arkadiusz Półtorak". magazynszum.pl. Archived from the original on 3 August 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Arkadiusz Półtorak". dwutygodnik.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.