The Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz has been in existence since 1949 (the exhibition hall, operating since 1946 in the Pomeranian House of Art, on August 1st, 1949, became a Branch of the Central Bureau of Art Exhibitions, based in Warsaw). The current Gallery building at 20th Gdańska Street was built in 1970, designed by Tadeusz Czerniawski and Zdzisław Kostrzewa. Andrzej Szwalbe, a Polish social and cultural activist and organizer of musical life in Bydgoszcz, contributed to its construction and opening. The second seat of the Gallery is located at 3rd Gdańska Str., in the place of the former Little Salon of Art (1973–1989) and the private Kantorek Gallery (established in 1990 and incorporated into the structure of the Municipal Gallery bwa in 2008).
The Gallery presents all disciplines of contemporary art by authors from Bydgoszcz, Poland and abroad. The Gallery organises subject exhibitions, as well as solo presentations of specific authors, including site-specific projects (realized within our international Artist-in Residence Program) video shows, performances. The Gallery has presented the works of both well-known foreign artists (Dali, Fleischer, Picasso, Warhol, Lindholm), and Polish ones (Szapocznikow, Abakanowicz, Kantor, Beksiński, Baumgart, Topor, Baj, Rajkowska). There are also group exhibitions (Musical theme in Polish contemporary art, Art of Fact, CHINaRT, New Tendencies in Polish Painting, Touch, Realism, Two Looks, Nietota, Herbarium, Harte Zaiten). Among the projects dedicated to a local artists we have had dozens of individual exhibitions (recently – Ewa Miller, Marek Noniewicz, Stanisław Stasiulewicz) and competitions (Bydgoszcz Art Biennale, Polygonum). Gallery organises as well numerous lectures on art, film screenings, concerts, discussion panels and workshops.

Significant dates:
1946 – an exhibition salon is established in the Pomorski House of Art in Bydgoszcz, on the initiative of Marian Turwid
1949 – the Central Bureau of Art Exhibitions (CBWA) is established in Warsaw, on the initiative of the Association of the Polish Visual Artists. The first local branches of CBWA are created; Marian Turwid is appointed the head of the Bydgoszcz branch, with its seat in the Pomorski House of Art
1962 – the Bydgoszcz branch of CBWA becomes an independent Bureau of Art Exhibitions (BWA)
1970 – the commissioning of the new exhibition building for the BWA, designed by Zdzisław Kostrzewa and Tadeusz Czerniawski
1973 – Kazimierz Jułga becomes the director of the BWA
1973–1989 – BWA in Bydgoszcz organizes regular exhibitions, also in the Little Salon of Art at 3 Gdańska St. in Bydgoszcz, which belongs to the Society of Friends of Art in Bydgoszcz
1990 – the Little Salon of Art is transformed into the private Kantorek Gallery, functioning in this role until 2008
2002 – Wacław Kuczma becomes the director of the BWA
2003–2017 – in the Brda Hotel in Bydgoszcz, under the patronage of BWA / Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz, exhibitions of young artists are organized
2005 – BWA in Bydgoszcz changes the name to the Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz
2008 – the Kantorek Gallery is incorporated into the structure of the Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz; it functions under this name until 2019
2016 – Karolina Leśnik-Patelczyk becomes the director of the Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz

Gdańska 20
ground floor
square meters- 118m
height – 330cm

ul. Gdańska 20
First and second floor
– square meters- 364m (14,80m / 24,60m)
– small room – 61m2 – (7,50m / 8,20m)
– height – 3,84m

Gdańska 3: