June 19, 2026 – February 1, 2027
25 zł (regular) / 18 zł (reduced), free on Thursdays

90/90. Around the Museum

On the occasion of its 90th birthday, the Museum of Warsaw invites the public to discover the institution.

To mark its 90th anniversary, the Museum of Warsaw is opening areas that are normally inaccessible to visitors. As part of the 90/90. Around the Museum project, the public will have the opportunity to discover how one of Warsaw’s leading cultural institutions operates and to meet its team.

90 objects for 90 years

From 19 June 2026 to 1 February 2027, the Museum of Warsaw will present 90 objects related to its everyday operation. The narrative is built with priceless collection items as well as ordinary, utilitarian objects essential to the Museum’s daily operation, architectural details, and even scents.

Among the exhibits there’s a watering can used to maintain appropriate humidity levels in the galleries, a hand-held visitor counter—an essential tool for gallery attendants—and anti-tarnish fabric used to protect Warsaw silver from corrosion.

“These are objects that present our Museum from many different perspectives—sometimes seriously, sometimes with a touch of humour. The entire Museum of Warsaw team participated in selecting them. Together, they illustrate both our history and our everyday work,” say the project’s curators.

A polyphonic history of the Museum

90/90 is a story not only about objects, but also about the people who have shaped the Museum of Warsaw over the decades—from its first postwar employees to today’s team of nearly 300 staff members. Among them are Helena Wrona, the Museum’s first janitor, and Professor Janusz Durko, who led the institution for more than half a century.

The project also features some very special members of the Museum community—the Museum dogs, who have accompanied the staff in their daily work for a long time. Chałka keeps an eye on contracts in the Exhibitions Department, Myszek supervises exhibition installations. Luna and Bongo test the comfort of exhibition carpets and floors, and Rosa, from the City Lab, helps develop the Museum’s public programme.

The anniversary project includes more ‘sensory’ stories, too. One of its ‘protagonists’ is the Museum’s distinctive smell—a blend of wood, wax, dust, and floor polish that evokes memories of school trips and historic interiors.

Behind the closed doors, secret corridors, and unique staircases

The anniversary project offers visitors a fresh perspective on familiar features of the Museum, such as the wrought-iron arrows designed by Stanisław Żaryn during the postwar reconstruction. Visitors will discover how the Museum’s storage facilities and conservation studios operate, and will also gain access to the hidden maze of corridors and passageways running between the historic townhouses.

As in the past, the Museum comes fully to life thanks to its visitors. The curators of 90/90 project invite the public not only to explore the exhibition, but also to join in a shared anniversary reflection: why does a city need a museum?

Not all of the anniversary stories, however, will be revealed at once. Hidden in the Museum’s corridors, behind closed doors, and among seemingly ordinary objects are traces of lesser-known stories—ones that, for years, were known only to those who worked at the Museum. Some will be revealed gradually, encouraging visitors to return and uncover more layers of this extraordinary place.

90 years of the Museum of Warsaw

The Museum of Warsaw grew out of an idea developed in the early twentieth century by members of the Society for the Protection of Historical Monuments. In 1936, the Museum of Old Warsaw was established. Destroyed during the Second World War, it was rebuilt after the War had ended. From the outset, the institution’s mission has been to collect Varsaviana and to build a comprehensive body of knowledge about Warsaw.

Today, the Museum of Warsaw occupies eleven historic townhouses at the Old Town Market Square. It also comprises eight branches: the Praga Museum, the Wola Museum, the Museum of Pharmacy, the Museum of Printing, the Heritage Interpretation Centre, the Korczakianum, the Palmiry Museum – Memorial Site, and the Hall of Remembrance at the Warsaw Insurgents’ Cemetery. The 90/90 project will span all of these locations, with visitors able to mark each stop on specially designed activity cards.

Visitors will discover the Museum “behind the closed doors” in three stages. The first thirty stories on the anniversary trail will be available from the project’s opening day, the next thirty from 28 August, and the full project will be unveiled on 6 November 2026. The anniversary trail will be available for viewing with a ticket to the permanent exhibitions at the Museum branches.

Educational programme

The 90/90. Around the Museum project will be accompanied by an educational programme and a range of events addressed to diverse audiences. These will include guided tours, object-based talks, activities for families, school groups, and visitors with special needs, as well as special visitor trails exploring the history and everyday life of the Museum of Warsaw.

The programme will also feature activities encouraging visitors to explore the anniversary display and the Museum’s spaces independently, discovering the many stories hidden throughout the institution.

Colophon

Proposed selection of objects and production of commentaries: Museum of Warsaw team

Curators: Agnieszka Dąbrowska, Monika Siwińska, Aleksandra Sołtan

Production: Monika Mazurek

Artistic project: Maciej Chodziński, Katarzyna Łygońska

Educational project: Aleksandra Kresowska