13 September – 7 December 2025
1 PLN

To Build a House

• How should masculinity be defined today?
• What are the current expectations placed on men and fathers, and what are their needs?
• How should they build relationships and talk about emotions?

These are topics that occupy an important place in the public debate.

The photographic project by Jakub Stanek, a fragment of which is presented at the Rynek 30 Gallery, addresses these issues while also being a personal, intimate autobiographical story.

Posadzić drzewo – To plant a tree, 2024, fot. J. Stanek

“To Do List – To father a son, to build a house, to plant a tree” – this is the full title of the series that Stanek has been working on since 2017. It is a personal narrative about contemporary fatherhood, the redefinition of masculinity, and the breaking of gender role stereotypes. The artist, a father to a 10-year-old son, combines intimate scenes from family life with symbolic imagery in his works, creating a reflection on equality in parenting and the need for social change.

For Stanek, what is nowadays referred to as the “crisis of masculinity” is not a problem, but an opportunity for transformation.

Polaroids, 2023, fot. J. Stanek

“To Do List” is not only an artistic commentary but also an invitation to a broader conversation about the need for equal treatment of both parents within legal and social systems. The artist shows that fatherhood is not just a “checklist” limited to fathering a son, building a house, and planting a tree, but above all, it is about presence, time, love, and a deep relationship with one’s child.

Uwikłanie – Entanglement, 2023, fot. J. Stanek

Jakub Stanek (born 1988) studied philosophy at the University of Warsaw and graduated from the Academy of Photography in Warsaw and the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava.

In 2014, he was selected as one of the 50 most promising young photographers in Poland as part of Debuts 2014.

Stanek has shown his work at international photography festivals and participated in several group exhibitions, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art in China, Photography Month in Krakow, and Paris Photo in Prague and Milan. Stanek is also the author of several photography books: The Man Without Past, Trip to Mars, 50,600 Kilometers of Intersecting Roads, and Notebook.

Galeria Rynek 30 is a field of activity for young creators: artists, but also curators. A variety of themes and means of expression are united by a fresh perspective and reflection on the present day. It is a meeting place and a link between the city’s past and what is most current and universal about it. The Rynek 30 Gallery is also a space for cooperation with non-governmental organizations, scientific and educational institutions.

artist: Jakub Stanek

curator: Karolina Ziębińska

producer: Aleksandra Złotowska

implementation: Anna Czejarek, Krzysztof Hernik

poster and visual materials designed by: Joanna Bębenek, Anna Światłowska

public programme: Dorota Stolarska-Kultys

The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Artmira Foundation.