The WRO Media Art Biennale is organized by the WRO Art Center, the first art institution in Poland working at the intersection of contemporary art, media and communication. Through exhibitions, educational initiatives, research and publications, the Center embraces experimental approaches to both art and organizational practices. Its projects, both national and international, highlight the creative possibilities of new technologies and explore the evolving relationships between image, sound, and perception within the broader landscape of contemporary art and cultural discourse.
The first WRO Media Art Biennale was held in December 1989 as the WRO Sound Basis Visual Art Festival. It was the first exhibition of media art and interdisciplinary practices in Poland organized outside the framework of official cultural institutions and free from censorship. This groundbreaking initiative was led by Open Studio WRO, an independent collective of avant-garde artists, researchers and enthusiasts founded by Violetta Kutlubasis-Krajewska, Piotr Krajewski, Zbigniew Kupisz and Lech Janerka. The festival’s pioneering format focused on presenting works that fused image and sound through the use of electronic media.
At the time, electronic art was virtually unknown in Poland. Video equipment and computers were largely perceived as tools of emerging commercial science or even science fiction, far removed from the realm of artistic expression. The first WRO featured performances by nearly a hundred visual artists from around the world, from Australia and Japan to Europe and the Americas, and received significant media attention.
Originally held annually in December, WRO moved to May and became a biennial event in 1993. Since its inception in 1989, WRO has showcased artistic practices that use new media as a tool for expression and communication, charting new creative territories while fostering a critical dialogue on the evolving relationship between art, technology and society.
Every two years, Wroclaw is transformed into a platform for the latest in contemporary media art, where exhibitions are complemented by discussions, performances, and encounters between artists, scholars, and audiences, shifting between contemplation and reflection, experience and confrontation. Throughout its history, the WRO Media Art Biennale has raised essential questions about the artistic use of new technologies and the creative crossover areas where art intersects with science, business and social activism.
The program of the WRO Media Art Biennale includes an impressive array of events taking place in venues across Wroclaw, including the WRO Art Center, the National Forum of Music, galleries, performing arts spaces, cultural centers, parks, and more. The first few days of the Biennale are devoted to opening events, followed by exhibitions, which run for about a month. Admission to the events is free.
