Polish Pavilion at Triennale Milano
May 13–November 9, 2025
On May 13, 2025, the Polish Pavilion at 24th International Exhibition of Triennale Milano will transform into a cozy chamber inspired by a tepidarium—an area in ancient Roman baths designed for relaxation and social gatherings. Curated by Katarzyna Roj, head of Lifery at BWA Wrocław, the project brings the concept of a day spa to life, offering a retreat from the fast pace of everyday life and a moment of tranquility amidst the bustle of the event. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is organizing the Polish Pavilion at the Triennale Milano International Exhibition for the fourth time.
A Brief Vacation exhibition in Polish Pavilion reimagines comfort as care, peace and time—a luxury that can be redistributed. Visitors are invited to recline on a meditative daybed, experience a sound shower, and reflect on contemporary hygiene and the urban infrastructure that sustains it. The design draws inspiration from Vittorio De Sica’s movie of the same name and the Albergo Diurno di Venezia, an underground hotel in Milan that served all social classes.
Just as tuberculosis once influenced Modernist architecture, today’s challenges—such as the pandemic, mass migrations, environmental crises, and planetary exhaustion—are transforming cities and infrastructure, shaping our vision of a regenerative future, writes Katarzyna Roj. What could social infrastructure look like if it not only supports health but also remains resilient, adapts to urban microclimates, and intertwines bodies with ecosystems? Could it become a caring, joyful, and inclusive sanctuary for a transcultural society in the age of mobility?
The pavilion introduces the concept of the Transsanatorium, a hybrid infrastructure combining transcultural and trans-species rituals of hygiene and ablution. Through models, visuals, scents and text, it explores the redistribution of pleasure, immunity, regeneration and health by merging functionalism with spirituality in everyday life.
The building’s regenerative performance leverages circular economies, reusing space, energy and urban waste, such as heat from subway tunnels, excavation soil, compost, greywater, even human bodily fluids—transforming waste into resources for renewal and care.
Katarzyna Roj collaborates on the exhibition with architect Aleksandra Wasilkowska (the author of the Transsanatorium project) and a team of artists: Olaf Brzeski (sculpture), Łukasz Rusznica (photography), and Agata Bartkowiak (graphic design). The project will also feature Monika Opieka (scent), Alicja Wysocka (choreography), and Antonina Nowacka (sound).
The 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition, titled Inequalities (May 13–November 9, 2025), is dedicated to the issue of the growing inequalities that characterize cities and the contemporary world. Through a series of exhibitions, special projects and public program events, the International Exhibition questions the global challenges related to the differences present in various spheres of existence: from economic to ethnic, from geographic origin to gender. Personalities from the world of art, design, architecture, collectives, cultural institutions, museums and research institutes from around the world are called upon to reflect on the theme with the aim of mapping inequalities and identifying the most advanced political projects for a society in which differences are a resource and a value to be recomposed into new forms of community.
Organizer: Adam Mickiewicz Institute / Co-organizer: BWA Wrocław Galleries of Contemporary Art / Partners: Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Milan, Polish Cultural Institute in Rome, PFR Nieruchomości part of Polish Development Fund Capital Group.
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland and Municipality of Wrocław.
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute brings Polish culture to people around the world. Being a state institution, it creates lasting interest in Polish culture and art through strengthening the presence of Polish artists on the global stage. It initiates innovative projects, supports international cooperation and cultural exchanges. It promotes the work of both established and promising artists, showing the diversity and richness of our culture. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is also responsible for the Culture.pl website, which is a comprehensive source of knowledge about Polish culture. More information: iam.pl.
Press contact: Klaudia Gniady, kgniady [at] iam.pl.