6.2 Supporting culture

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Hestia Artistic Journey

ERGO Hestia supports the development of culture at every stage. ERGO Hestia helps young artists to establish themselves on the Polish and international art market and supports the development of their careers. ERGO Hestia builds a collection of young Polish art of the 21^st century, unique on the national scale (since 2002). ERGO Hestia is a strategic partner of one of the most important art institutions in Poland, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. ERGO Hestia conducts many educational activities, both in-house and externally, towards development through art and the dissemination of knowledge about art. All these activities are carried out by the Hestia Artistic Journey Foundation.

The Foundation’s mission is, among other things, to bring contemporary art to a wider audience and to facilitate dialogue between the worlds of art and business. This is done, among others, as part of the annual nationwide Hestia Artistic Journey competition aimed at fourth and fifth year students of art faculties at universities across the country.

The final exhibition of the 19^th and 20^th editions of the Hestia Artistic Journey competition took place at the Museum on the Vistula River, a branch of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw.

Hestia Artistic Journey competition in 2021:

318

young artists entered the jubilee 20^th edition of the Hestia Artistic Journey competition

finalists of Hestia Artistic Journey competition in 2021

cooperating universities

open exhibitions for the public

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Annual Report
ERGO Hestia’s annual reports are the result of an art audit carried out periodically since 2014 within the company. This unique project is carried out by artists awarded the Special Award of the President of the ERGO Hestia Group Piotr M. Śliwicki in the Hestia Artistic Journey competition. The presentation of financial results is only a pretext to say much more about the company as seen through the eyes of young artists in a visually interesting way.

Exhibitions
The artworks of the finalists and winners of the Hestia Artistic Journey competition are presented in the largest cultural institutions in Poland. In this way, the Foundation pursues the idea of a “travelling collection” and supports the career development of young artists.
Their works are also presented at the Foundation’s headquarters, the ERGO Hestia Art Pavilion at 1 Franciszka Kostrzewskiego Street in Warsaw. The artists featured in 2021 included: Norbert Delman “A posteriori” (finalist of the 2014 Hestia Artistic Journey competition), Mateusz Kowalczyk “Phytoremediation” (winner of the 2019 Hestia Artistic Journey award), Kinga Burek “Someone up there clearly likes me” (winner of the 2021 Hestia Artistic Journey competition) and a group exhibition of Hestia Artistic Journey competition winners from the collection of patron Tomasz Chmal.

Art and Literature Walks
The Art and Literature Walks is a monthly online magazine which recommends the most interesting art and literature events in Poland and the world in an attractive form. 92 issues have been produced since December 2014, each available on the Foundation’s website. The magazine introduces the readers to ERGO Hestia’s collection, presents the profiles of the finalists of the Hestia Artistic Journey competition and promotes other cultural activities of ERGO Hestia (including the Hestia Literary Journey).

WINDOW Project

The project ran in late 2020 and early 2021 in 14 cities across Poland featuring 15 artists, finalists of the 19^th Hestia Artistic Journey competition. In collaboration with ERGO Hestia staff, small local businesses were selected and their storefronts transformed into art spaces for a fortnight. The programme was designed to support both ERGO Hestia’s customers (small businesses insured with us) and the finalists of the Hestia Artistic Journey competition in a difficult time of the pandemic.

Find out more about the Hestia Artistic Journey Foundation

Hestia Literary Journey

There is a world in which beauty and goodness reign supreme. It is the world of children’s’ literature which has enormous power to shape the interests and form the value system of young readers. That is why we have decided to give it special care and established a new project in 2021, the Hestia Literary Journey competition. The founder of the Hestia Literary Journey Award is the ERGO Hestia Group. The competition is organised by the Hestia Artistic Journey Foundation in partnership with the Wisława Szymborska Foundation.

The Hestia Literary Journey recognises authors of classic forms: novels, graphic novels and short stories written with young readers (aged 10-15) in mind. We select titles which are likely to enter the canon of children’s and young adult literature for a long time. The books nominated for the competition deal with important social issues, which the authors discuss with the public during author meetings. Entries are judged by an award panel made up of experts in children’s literature and representatives of the Foundation.

76 books submitted for the Hestia Literary Journey competition

5 books nominated for the award

The Hestia Literary Journey 2021 Award went to Katarzyna Ryrych for her novel Lato na Rodos [Summer on Rhodes]. The book was published in 2020 by the Nasza Księgarnia publishing house.

Father Józef Tischner Znak and Hestia Award

Established by ERGO Hestia and the Znak monthly and publishing house, it has been awarded continuously since 2001. The award recognises outstanding intellectuals, essayists and social activists who continue the philosophical thought of Father Józef Tischner through their work and activities. The award promotes a way of thinking and attitudes which combine intellectual integrity, courage and sensitivity to others.

The winners of the 21^st edition of the Father Józef Tischner Znak and Hestia Award were:

Reverend Tomáš Halík for his book Time of Empty Churches in which he shows that the time of the pandemic forces us to rediscover Christianity,
Łukasz Lamża, for his book Parallel Worlds. What Flat-earthers, Homeopaths and Dowsers Can Teach Us which meticulously dissects pseudoscientific and conspiracy theories,
Home Hospice – Archdiocesan Home Palliative Care Team of Warsaw for wisely guiding patients through the process of anguished passing and for supporting their families and loved ones.

Find out more about the Father Józef Tischner Znak and Hestia Award …

Different Views exhibition of Dutch and Flemish paintings from the ERGO Hestia Collection

On the occasion of its 30^th anniversary, ERGO Hestia presented a unique collection of Dutch and Flemish paintings to a wider audience for the first time in 2021. It could be viewed in the prestigious space of the National Museum in Warsaw. This is the only corporate collection of ancient artworks to be presented to the public for the first time. The outstanding works of 17^th century Dutch art were an attraction not only for art lovers but also for professionals, academics and art historians who were able to see the works in person for the first time. The exhibition was complemented by selected works from the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.

The origins of ERGO Hestia’s collection of ancient artworks date back to 2008. The collection is unique in the country. The exhibition at the National Museum in Warsaw presented a total of 52 works (42 from the ERGO Hestia collection and 10 from the museum’s collection) by artists such as Salomon van Ruysdael, David Teniers the Younger, Jan Porcellis, Gabriël Metsu and Jan Brueghel the Younger.

6.1 Our approach to community engagement

6.3 Supporting ecology

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6. Community engagement

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Hestia Literary Journey

Father Józef Tischner Znak and Hestia Award

Different Views exhibition of Dutch and Flemish paintings from the ERGO Hestia Collection