Wickerwork. Craft and Design

An exhibition on traditional and contemporary wickerwork as Polish intangible cultural heritage, on view through 30 April 2027 at the SGGW Museum.

SGGW Museum on the exhibition:

“The exhibition ‘Wickerwork. Craft and Design’ presents the richness of traditional and contemporary forms of wickerwork as an important element of Polish intangible cultural heritage. […] The exhibition can be seen until 30 April 2027.”

What to expect

The exhibition presents wickerwork both as a historical craft tied to local traditions and as an inspiration for contemporary design and art. Opened with a vernissage on 29-30 May 2026, it is part of the “Polish Intangible Heritage on the UNESCO List” series. Open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am-3:00 pm, in Building 48 (entrance C, 1st floor). Details on the SGGW Museum’s website.

Traditional pieces made from natural materials are shown side by side with contemporary design work and artists’ reinterpretations of weaving techniques. The museum publishes no object list, no count of exhibits and no curators’ names. The show opened during a two-day programme that combined an academic conference, the vernissage and weaving workshops run by folk makers and tradition bearers. The museum organised it with two SGGW institutes: Sociology and Pedagogy, and Wood Science and Furniture.

Context

Wickerwork is one of the oldest crafts in Poland: baskets and containers for everyday farm work were woven from willow, straw and roots. What sets the Polish tradition apart is the dominance of willow, and its centres include the Nowy Tomyśl area in western Poland, where willow has been grown since the 18th century, and Rudnik nad Sanem in the south-east, home to a basket-making school founded in 1878. In December 2025 the tradition of basketry in Poland was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the seventh Polish entry on that list.

The show launches “Polish Intangible Heritage on the UNESCO List”, a series planned with one edition a year, each devoted to a different heritage element. The museum has announced a future edition on the polonaise, the Polish national dance. The Polish National Commission for UNESCO is the series’ honorary patron.

Tickets and time

• Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00-15:00 (9 AM - 3 PM). The museum is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, so this is strictly a weekday visit.
• Admission: the museum states that visits guided by a staff member, individual or group, are free. Its pages say nothing about a separate ticket for the temporary show.
• Time needed: the museum puts a visit at 30-45 minutes. If you want a half-day museum, go elsewhere; if you are on the SGGW campus anyway, it fits into a break.
• Groups: book by phone at +48 22 59 35 800 or +48 22 59 35 802, or by email at muzeumsggw@sggw.edu.pl.
• Getting there: the campus is in Ursynów, a residential district in the south of Warsaw. Take the M1 metro line to Ursynów or Stokłosy station, then a bus towards the SGGW campus. Drivers will find a paid underground car park and a free surface car park on campus.
• Closures: the museum announces closures in its news section; over winter 2025/2026 it was shut from 24 December to 7 January. Before a visit around the holidays, check the SGGW Museum homepage (in Polish).

See also

• SGGW Museum - the permanent exhibition “From Marymont to Ursynów” covers more than 200 years of the university, including a rector’s gown sewn from an UNRRA aid blanket; the museum says the current temporary show can be seen on the same visit, so one trip covers both.
• State Ethnographic Museum - its “The Order of Things” gallery shows rural tools and a collection of wicker objects, the historical background to the forms on show at SGGW.
• Blacksmith Museum - another traditional craft, in south Warsaw, a few km from the campus; visits by prior phone appointment only.

Museum profile: Warsaw University of Life Sciences Museum.