News Releases 2010
author jaroszyńska–kirchmann | hidden treasures | evening at pma | field museum visit | summer ball | paderewski recital | poster acquisition | capitals of poland tour | art deco tour | laskin book signing | pulaski day events | pulaski day scholarships
AUTHOR'S NIGHT: Professor Anna D. Jaroszyńska–Kirchmann
On Saturday, November 20 at 4:30 PM, the Polish Museum of America will sponsor a meeting with the Professor Anna D. Jaroszyńska – Kirchmann of Eastern Connecticut State University. She is the author of The Exile Mission – The Polish Political Diaspora and Polish-Americans 1939-1956. The book is the latest offering of the Ohio University Press’ Polish and Polish-American Studies Series.
Professor Kirchmann’s book examines the interaction of two distinct groups of Poles: Polish-Americans, removed two or three generations from a portioned Poland and those recent arrivals from Europe - political exiles, but raised and nurtured in a Polish nation. How they regarded each other and what were their goals is presented by anecdotes from interviews, excerpts from newspapers and personal memoirs.
$5.00 admission charge. Light refreshments will be served.
Contact: Jan Lorys, (773) 384-3352 ext. 101
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174550672560831&num_event_invites=0
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HIDDEN TREASURES: THE POLISH MUSEUM OF AMERICA GRAPHIC ART COLLECTION
July 30–September 26, 2010 | Opening Reception: Friday, July 30, 7–9 p.m.
For the first time in the United States—after presentations in Poland—a spectacular exhibition will be displayed in Chicago with 120 works on paper from 1919 to 1995 by 65 renowned Polish artists. These extremely valuable prints are from The Polish Museum of America permanent collection, including unique woodcuts from the Polish Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair in 1939–1940, and a lithograph by Stanisław Szukalski, an artist admired by Leonardo DiCaprio. The Hollywood star published a book about his family’s eccentric friend—an inspiration for his role in the film Titanic.
The Polish Museum of America has prepared an exhibition in cooperation with the National Museum in Kraków, Poland (Treasures of Polish Culture Abroad program) and with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Warsaw, Poland).
To this day, there has not been any publication that documents the entire collection of the Polish Museum of America. Therefore, it is worth noting that this exhibition is accompanied by a 250 page illustrated catalog which details not only the contents of the exhibition, but also the background of the collections at the Polish Museum of America.
Exhibition Patron: The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Warsaw, Poland)
Curator: Monika Nowak
Opening Reception: Friday, July 30, 7–9 p.m.
Admission: $10—Funds received will go toward the renovation of the Museum Art Gallery
Contact: Polish Museum of America
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EVENING AT THE POLISH MUSEUM OF AMERICA
Come join in the first Evening at the Polish Museum of America, Thursday, July 22nd, from 6:00-10:00 p.m.! This is a chance to meet new people as you experience the Museum for the first time, or see it in a new way.
You will be able to savor Polish flavors, both food and drinks; accompanied by good tunes. This will also be one of your last chances to see the great exhibit, "Around the World in 36 Frames." This exhibit culminates a 3 year project of one camera, with enough film for 36 shots, making its way to 36 cities around the globe and at every stop, one person takes just one shot. As a bonus, you will be able to meet and talk one-on-one with the artist, Wojtek Gil!
The Museum is conveniently located at 984 N. Milwaukee Avenue (at the corner of Milwaukee and Augusta - just south of Division on Milwaukee). Entry will be just $15 ($10 for Museum members), with one drink included (all proceeds benefit the Museum). There is plenty of free parking; and the Museum is also close to the CTA Blue Line (either 4 blocks southeast of the Division station on Milwaukee; or 4 blocks northwest of the Chicago station on Milwaukee).
You can download full version of the flyer at http://www.jpnetquest.com/jpnetquest/pdf/PolishMuseumNight.pdf
Location: 984 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago IL
Date and Time: Thursday, July 22, 6:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Admission: $15 ($10 for Museum members)
Contact: Paulina Jakubiec | tel. 773-384-3352 ext. 101 | e-mail:
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SPECIAL VISIT TO THE FIELD MUSEUM
The Museum will sponsor a special visit to the field museum and facilitate a discussion July 15, 2010, 10:00 to noon.
The Museum has made arrangements with the Field Museum and the Chicago Cultural Alliance to offer free admission to the Field Museum at 10:00 a.m. to view the new Kip Fulbeck Exhibit, "Part Asian, 100% Hapa," and then participate in a discussion about ethnicity. After the discussion, participants are free to view the rest of the exhibits at the Field Museum.
Space is limited! (Free parking is not included.) To participate you must make reservations by July 12! (773) 384-3352 ext 206 or ext 104 or email . Limited to 18 and over.
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2010 SUMMER BALL
30th Annual PMA Summer Ball
Friday, June 11, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Rosemont Hotel at O’Hare
5550 River Road
Rosemont, Illinois
The evening will include a Silent Auction, Dinner & Dancing and music by the Anthony Kawalkowski Orchestra. This marks the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the Polish Museum of America.
On June 11, 2010, The Polish Museum of America will hold its Annual Summer Ball and Silent Auction at the Rosemont Hotel at O’Hare (formerly Hotel Sofitel) located at 5550 North River Road, Rosemont, Illinois. This year, the Museum will honor the Ted & Alice Przybyblo Family, owners of the White Eagle Banquet & Restaurant which is a family run business since 1946, with the 2010 Polish Spirit Award in recognition for their service to the Polish & American communities, for their involvement in supporting many Polish causes.
The Annual Summer Ball is the PMA’s major fundraising event, with all proceeds benefiting the Museum. Established in Chicago in 1935, The Polish Museum of America remains the nation’s only institution of its kind, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Polish and Polish American culture through a wide variety of educational programs and exhibitions. In addition, the Museum houses a library, valuable archives and priceless artifacts, which serve all those seeking knowledge about the distinguished heritage and history of Poles in the United States and throughout the world. More than ever the PMA needs your support during these challenging economic times.
For more information about the Ball, please call Joan Kosinski at (773) 582-7252 or Maria Ciesla at (773) 384-3352 x104.
Last Chance! Reservations still being accepted! Reservations until June 5th: Alicia Dutka (847) 382.6339. Make checks payable to the: Polish Museum of America.
Mail to:
Alicia Dutka c/o Polish Museum of America Summer Ball
1991 Selkirk Ct.
Inverness, IL 60010
Thank You for Your Support and Thank You to the Summer Ball Committee!
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SPECIAL PADEREWSKI RECITAL
The Polish Museum of America, 984 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL, proudly presents a reproducing piano (pianola) concert given by Rex Lawson, founder of the Pianola Institute in London, England.
The concert, comprised of piano rolls punched out by Ignacy Paderewski on the works of Chopin, Liszt, and Schubert, will be given on Sunday May 16th in the Great Hall of the Museum, beginning at 2 pm. The concert is dedicated to the memories of the late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria.
Reserved VIP tickets, which include a guided tour of the marvelously renovated Paderwski Room of the Museum at 12:30 pm, are $25 per person and also include” up close and personal” seating to watch the workings of the 1925 seven foot concert grand pianola during the performance. General admission seating is $15. VIP tickets are by reservation only. Reservations are recommended for general seating.
For information and reservations, please call the Museum weekdays at (773) 384-3352, x 104 or 206.
For more information on this piano click here.
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1920 POSTER ADDED TO PMA COLLECTION
The PMA has always depended on gifts and donations to enrich its collections. Recently, the family of the late Dr. Eugene Slotkowski donated a part of his library and some of his art collection. Dr. Slotkowski was very active in defending the Polish and Polish American good name.
Among the art work we received was a large poster that increased our military themed collection. The poster was received in time to help commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Bolshevik invasion of Poland in 1920. Thus it became the oldest poster printed in Poland in our holdings. The oldest poster is one of Helena Modjeska printed in Buffalo in the 1890s. We also have Polish American posters printed during the First World War. (1914-1918).
The poster, illustrated by Edmund Bartlomiejczyk is quite interesting. Its message is -- “Aid Us! Everything and Everybody to the Front”. In the forefront we have two Polish soldiers trying to prop up a collapsing wooden fence (alluding to the Polish role of being the “bulwark of Christendom” against the enemies from the East). In other posters the Bolshevik enemy is shown as being the devil incarnate and many of the figures are painted in red. Here the only red is in the enemy’s banner, with a five-pointed star looking like a pentagram (sign of the devil). Instead of the typical devil images, those pushing the fence down are portrayed as semi-human, almost soulless and drained of life. This brings to mind Nikolai Gogol’s novel Dead Souls that was written in 1842, but in a different context.
Without sounding trite, Bartlomiejczyk has prophesized the theme of zombie movies popular from the 1960’s through the present. In these, a group of outnumbered people, usually in some building or structure, are under the threat of being overrun by the Walking Dead.
We are planning to restore the NA POMOC poster and to exhibit it in August along with some other artifacts from the Polish Bolshevik War (including a captured Bolshevik banner) in the Paderewski Room.
—Jan M. Lorys, Director
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CAPITALS OF POLAND TOUR
PRESENTED BY The Polish Museum of America / Chicago, IL USA AND Supertour DMC LTD. / Warsaw, Poland
The Capitals of Poland, from June 18–July 3, 2010, is a standard tour offered by the PMA. It starts in Warsaw, then moves north to Malbork Castle, the Tri City (Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia) on the Baltic Coast; Torun, the Home Town of Copernicus: Poznan/Gniezno (the first capital of Poland); Czestochowa, the Religious Capital of Poland and ends in Krakow, where we visit the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill, the Salt Mine at Wieliczka, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and Auschwitz; we also visit Zakopane, Poland’s winter capital.
The low, land-based cost of this trip is $1,720 per person, double occupancy and a single supplement is priced at $600. This cost includes hotel, bus transportation, breakfast daily and 8 dinners and admission to all events per schedule. For further information, please contact Jan Lorys, Director, The Polish Museum of America, 984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60642-4101; telephone (773) 384-3352 ext. 102; email .
If you have a higher speed Internet connection, click here for a full-color brochure with many photos. For a faster download, click here for a text-only brochure that includes the itinerary, accommodations and more.
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ART DECO POLAND TOUR
PRESENTED BY The Polish Museum of America / Chicago, IL USA AND Supertour DMC LTD. / Warsaw, Poland
Join the Polish Museum on an Art Deco Tour of Poland from September 19–October 1, 2010. On this 15-day tour we will visit Gdynia, Warsaw, Katowice, Bielsko-Biala, Krakow, Zamosc, Baranow Sandomierski and Stalowa Wola.
We will have an English speaking tour escort throughout the group’s stay in Poland. Enjoy sightseeing with local English speaking guides and entrances where applicable. Transportation for all tours and transfers is by 35-seater mini-coach (with AC) for 15-20 pax or 49-seater motor-coach (with AC, WC) for 25-30 pax, with 1st class EX or IC train tickets from Warsaw to Katowice. Stay in modern hotels with restaurants and other conveniences such as cafes, excercise rooms, Internet access, elevators and air conditioning.
This two-week tour is being offered at the unbelievable price of $1,451.71 per person (land-only cost), based on double occupancy and minimum participation of 21 travelers. Single supplements are available for $600.00. For further information, please contact Jan Lorys, Director, The Polish Museum of America, 984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60642-4101; telephone (773) 384-3352 ext. 102; email .
If you have a higher speed Internet connection, click here for a full-color brochure with many photos. For a faster download, click here for a text-only brochure that includes the itinerary, accommodations and more.
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PRESENTATION AND BOOK SIGNING
In a few years we will commemorate the hundredth anniversary start of World War I, the first devastating conflict of the 20th Century. That conflict helped to place the United States of America as one of the leading powers of the world and launched the many changes that still confront us.
For the last few years we have heard of the passing of the last soldier of that conflict in each participating country of the war. Their children are also leaving us. The grandchildren often received incidental reminisces. What about the rest of us?
On March 26th at 7:30 PM, the Polish Museum of America is hosting David Laskin, author of The Long Way Home An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War. Mr. Laskin relates the experiences of 12 immigrants: Irish, Italian, Jewish, Polish, Russian, Scandinavian and Slovak in being drafted, undergoing training in boot camp, and “over there.” This passage from immigrant to American veteran is told using diaries, letters and the stories of family members. The archives of the Polish Museum of America provided some material and for this reason Mr. Laskin will be having his presentation and book signing at the Museum.
David Laskin is the author of The Children’s Blizzard, a story of six families enduring the Midwest blizzard of 1888. The book was awarded the 2006 Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Award for Nonfiction and the Washington State Book Award. He has had articles in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Smithsonian. Mr. Laskin lives in Seattle, Washington.
There is ample free parking in the lots west and south of the building. It can be reached by the CTA 56 Milwaukee Bus and is three blocks from both the Division and Chicago Avenue stops on the Blue Line.
$5.00 admission.
For further information, call Jan Loryś at 1 773-384-3352 or send an e-mail to
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STATE OF ILLINOIS WILL HONOR GENERAL PULASKI
Chicago, IL - The public is invited to celebrate Pulaski Day on Monday, March 1, 2010, at 10 a.m. at The Polish Museum of America, 984 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. The presence of distinguished leaders of national, state, county and city government is anticipated, as well as leaders of Polonia. A short program of speakers will take place, followed by entertainment. Admission and parking are free.
General Casimir Pulaski is recognized as the “Father of the American Cavalry.” He offered his services as an experienced military leader to the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. “I came to hazard all for the freedom of America,” stated Pulaski in a letter to the Congress. Even before he was officially commissioned by Congress, Pulaski joined the American Army as a volunteer. At Brandywine, in 1777, he greatly distinguished himself by leading a daring attack against the British, thereby saving the retreating American Army.
At the insistence of General George Washington, Pulaski was made a Brigadier General and the first Commander of the American Cavalry. He established the Pulaski Legion, a corps of Frenchmen, German Hessians and Poles, who attempted to relieve the City of Charleston, South Carolina, from British occupation in 1779. In October of 1779, at the age of 32, General Pulaski paid the ultimate price for freedom: he died from mortal wounds received while trying to rally the infantry troops whose charge of the British fortifications was faltering. The General’s mortal remains were ceremoniously reinterred at the Pulaski Monument at Monterrey Square in Savannah, GA in October of 2005.
The public and members of the media are invited to attend the observance in honor of this great Polish and American hero. Refreshments will be served afterwards in the Social Hall on the first floor. Free parking is available in two lots to the west of the building.
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PULASKI DAY SCHOLARSHIPS ANNOUNCED
The Polish Museum of America partners with Jewel Osco on Pulaski Day Scholarships
The Polish Museum of America is pleased to announce their new partnership with Jewel Osco. Jewel Osco, sponsors of the Pulaski Day Scholarship, have chosen the Polish Museum of America to facilitate their annual scholarships. The scholarships will be presented at the Official State of Illinois Pulaski Day Celebration, held in the Great Hall of the Polish Museum of America. The Polish Museum of America will select 5 recipients, each of whom will receive a $1,000.00 scholarship applicable for the 2010 school year. High school seniors, college and graduate students who will be continuing their studies are encouraged to apply. Submissions must be received by February 23, 2010.
To participate, candidates must submit an essay (not to exceed 500 words) on the following topic: The Cultural Relevance of the Polish Museum of America on the 75th Anniversary of Its Founding. Essays should be accompanied by a one page personal statement on the student's academic and career goals, community involvement, personal interests, extra-curricular activities and/or any recent achievements. Entries should be typed, double-spaced and will be submitted in English. Candidates must be residents of the metropolitan Chicagoland area, and must include their first and last name, email address, phone number and school address with their entry. Please email the entries to: or fax to 773-384-3799 or mail to the address at the end of this announcement. (When submitting electronic files to the PMA, please provide them in MS Word, MS Excel, Rich Text Format, PDF format, or JPG format.)
Candidates must also be available to attend the official scholarship check presentation held at the Polish Museum on Monday, March 1, 2010 beginning at 10:00 AM.
In recent years, guests at the Pulaski Day celebration have included then-Senator Barack Obama, Governor Patrick Quinn, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and other distinguished political and community leaders. A short program of speakers will take place, followed by the Jewel-Osco Pulaski Day check presentation, and a public reception afterward. Admission and parking are free.
The first Monday of March in Illinois honors Polish-born Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski, a famed cavalry officer in Poland who joined the American Revolution and became a hero here and a source of great pride for Polish-Americans.
Submit Application to:
Jewel Osco Pulaski Day Scholarship
The Polish Museum of America
984 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60642-4101
