The International Art Symposium “It Was, It Is and It Will Be” was initiated in 2017 as a continuation of the Hallo Wrocław 2016 project.

Hallo Wrocław was created with the promotion of the artists associated with Wrocław’s Academy of Art and Design in mind, as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations. It comprised a series of international art shows, which took place in the years 2010–2016 in many cultural institutions in Germany, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

In 2017, the character of Hallo Wrocław changed. The experience gained during the organisation of ECC led to an important conclusion that meetings and discussions – building relationships within artistic communities – are an indispensable, but today often overlooked, element of artistic work.

Therefore, the exhibition project transformed into an art symposium, which led to the creation of a collection of artwork first displayed at an exhibition and then presented in an art catalogue. The Art Symposium was given the title “It Was, It Is and It Will Be” inspired by the work of Wrocław artist Stanisław Dróżdż.

The Palace in Morawa was chosen as the venue of the Symposium meetings and artwork presentations, and Wrocław artists and guest participants invited from various institutions in Poland and abroad met there for three years.

The Art Symposium continues the intermedia traditions of Wrocław’s artistic community, which has been very active, open to experiment and willing to undertake ephemeral activities ever since the second half of the 20th century. The assumptions of the Art Symposium “It Was, It Is and It Will Be” correspond with the values dating back to that time, allowing visual artists, art theorists, critics and historians to exchange their ideas.

The International Art Symposium “It Was, It Is and It Will Be” is organised by the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław. The project is funded by the City of Wrocław.