“Zeszyty Artystyczne” (transl. as “Art Notebooks”) is an academic peer-reviewed journal focusing on the broad perspective of issues regarding visual arts, humanities and art education. This journal, published by the Faculty of Art Education and Curatorial Studies, Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznań, Poland, uniquely combines scholarly analysis and critical artistic methods of creating and writing. It has been published since 1983, being the only academic and artistic journal with such a long tradition in Poland. The referential version is the paper edition, which is published twice a year.
ISSN: 1232-6682
History and Overview
The journal “Zeszyty Artystyczne” was founded in 1983 and the founding editor was the artist Jan Berdyszak. Among the editorial committee at the time were: Grzegorz Dziamski, Rafał Grupiński, Alicja Kępińska, Jarosław Kozłowski, Andrzej Kurzawski, Wojciech Müller. Afterwards, for numerous years the editor-in-chief was Marek Wasilewski, then, since 2014 – Justyna Ryczek. From April 2024 the editor-in-chief is Ewa Wójtowicz.
The editorial team is based in Poland and Germany and affiliated to the Faculty of Art Education and Curatorial Studies at Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznań, Poland.
The editorial team:
- dr hab. Ewa Wójtowicz, prof. nadzw. UAP.
- dr Magdalena Kleszyńska, ad.
- dr hab. Izabela Kowalczyk, prof. nadzw. UAP.
- dr Justyna Ryczek, ad.
- prof. dr hab. Marta Smolińska.
- Secretary: dr Karolina Rosiejka, ad.
Advisory Board:
- prof. Izabella Gustowska, Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu, Poland
- prof. Marek Krajewski, Uniwersytet im. A. Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, Poland
- doc. Mária Orišková, dr fil., Trnavská Univerzita w Trnave, Slovakia
- doc. Jörg Scheller, dr fil., Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK), Switzerland
- prof. Miško Šuvaković, Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia
- prof. dr Sabeth Buchmann, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Institut für Kunst und Kulturwissenschaft, Austria
- prof. Burcu Dogramaci, LMU, Monachium, Germany
First editions were designed by Grzegorz Marszałek, then, between 2003 and 2016 the graphic layout has been designed by Mirosław Pawłowski. The issues from 29th to 45th were designed and typesetted by Bartosz Mamak. From the 46. issue the graphic designer is Mateusz Janik.
The founders of “Zeszyty Artystyczne” noticed a need for a cross-disciplinary journal that is a forum and means of communication between artists, theorists and cultural workers from Poznań, Polish academia, and beyond. The journal has been published by the leading academic institution in the field of artistic education in Poland, despite changing its name, accordingly, from the PWSSP to Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań (ASP) in 1996 and finally to the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznań (UAP) in 2010. From 2016 the journal is published by the Faculty of Artistic Education and Curatorial Studies.
Selected issues of “Zeszyty Artystyczne” are bilingual, with articles published in Polish and translated to English. This was possible due to the grants received from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (2018-2019) and the Ministry of Education and Science (2022-2023). Apart from the grants, the journal publishes abstracts in English, as well as titles of articles and keywords.
The published articles are available to readers as free pdf files without any subscription or fees. The editorial team is currently working on adjusting the pdf files to meet WCAG 2.1 criteria in full scope. Also, the archive of the journal has been digitized as a part of the project supported by one of the grants, aimed at the development of scholarly journals, therefore the electronic backup is secured by the University.
So far the numerous monographic editions of “Zeszyty Artystyczne” covered such topics as:
- Confabulations of memory – the legacy of Stefan Wojnecki,
- Textile Art. In the face of contemporary times,
- Mysteries – Rituals – Performances. The aesthetic dimension,
- Sound in non-musical artistic activities,
- Polish school of poster – genesis, clashes, continuation,
- Art in the face of the world,
- Centers and peripheries – geographical idiom in audiovisual arts,
- Curatorial strategies,
- Museum education,
- Art and philosophy: #now,
- Context / Contextualism. Between theory and practice,
- Illegibility,
- Educational potential of photography,
- Ritual and correspondence of arts,
- Education in the context of neoliberal policy of profitability,
- On the verge of art and psychology,
- Axiological boundaries of art,
- Impossible/Possible. Fiction in artistic creation,
- Visual literacy,
- Design – between art and science,
- New media art and its cultural contexts.
While most of the authors are affiliated in Poland, the geographical diversity of authors contributing to “Zeszyty Artystyczne” includes Belarus, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia.
Mission and Statement
Since 1983, “Zeszyty Artystyczne” has aimed to be a leading artistic and scholarly journal in the scope of reflection upon art within Polish academia. The key research issues are sought from the intersection of arts and humanities, with an emphasis on art education and examining creative activity in the local, national and international art scenes. Each issue is monographic and is edited by a commissioning editor. This approach results in a broad discussion and fosters a multidimensional, collaborative overview of the chosen topics. In order to document the artistic life around Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznań, every issue of “Zeszyty Artystyczne” contains reviews of books and exhibitions, and a list of current exhibitions in galleries connected to the University.
After many years, “Zeszyty Artystyczne” still continues to identify new paths in the interdisciplinary discourse, thus creating opportunities for a fruitful exchange of ideas between practitioners in the field of arts and humanities.