• Linking architecture to the human being for whom it is designed may be understood as the humanism of our art.
• Matthew Nowicki

Stanisława Nowicka (nee Sandecka) and Maciej (Matthew) Nowicki are two prominent figures in the history of American and Polish architecture. She was a talented graphic artist and designer, the first female professor of architecture in the history of the United States. He collaborated – despite his young age – with renowned architects on prestigious projects whose implementation was interrupted by his tragic death. Their story is a fascinating tale of creative passion, their life together, and the possibilities and limitations of the turbulent beginning of the 20th century.

The dramatic history of their homeland, their lived experiences, but also a great hope for a better future, laid the foundation for an innovative curriculum and architectural designs that changed the history of the profession. By combining the latest building developments with great respect for the local context, their readiness for dialogue and understanding of others, as well as their enormous talent, they created a humanist modernism that opened the contemporary understanding of architecture to previously unknown realms.

Although the Nowickis’ architecture is often viewed through the lens of their most iconic project, the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, the exhibition presents the duo’s versatile approach and the extraordinary diversity of their areas of activity and designs. Today, we can draw inspiration from their body of work to promote a more responsible and sensitive approach to planning and building, conscious of the contemporary environmental and social challenges.

• Curator: Kacper Kępiński

• Curatorial collaboration: Karolina Częczek, Grzegorz Piątek

• Organized by: Narodowy Instytut Architektury i Urbanistyki

• Co-organized by: Museum of Architecture in Wrocław

• Collaborative input:

• Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to the United Nations in New York
• College of Design – School of Architecture – North Carolina State University
• Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington DC
• Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York
• Polish Cultural Institute New York
• AIA NY Center for Architecture
• Polish Institute New Delhi

• Government Museum and Art Gallery Chandigarh

• Exhibition architecture: Karolina Częczek, Only If Architecture EU & Ava Violich-Kennedy

• Visual identity: Katarzyna Nestorowicz
• Graphic design of the exhibition: Karolina Częczek, Katarzyna Nestorowicz, Weronika Nowak
• Production and licensing: Kacper Tomaszewski, Wiktoria Litwinowicz, Agnieszka Smutek, Weronika Sołtysiak, Mateusz Włodarek
• Communication and Accompanying program: Iga Bałchanowska, Marta Baranowska, Marta Czyż, Katarzyna Nestorowicz, Kalina Soska, Dominik Witaszczyk, Aleksandra Zaszewska
• Educational program: Pola Balsiewicz, Michał Chadera, Katarzyna Domagalska, Agnieszka Gola, Patrycja Mazurek, Karolina Scheibe-Skorczyk
• Editing: Urszula Drabińska
• Translations: Natalia Raczkowska, Dorota Wąsik
• Photo editing: Weronika Nowak, Tomasz Kubaczyk
• Models: Onimo, Marta Dachowska
• Framing of archival projects: Krystyna Piwowarska-Kerber

Artists: Alicja Bielawska, Szymon Rogiński, Jakub Ciężki, Wiktor Dyndo, Diana Lelonek, Małgorzata Kuciewicz i Simone De Iacobis (Centrala)

Archival materials: Centre Pompidou, NCSU University Libraries, Muzeum Warszawy, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Muzeum Architektury we Wrocławiu, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, UPenn Architectural Archives, Walker Arts Center, Smithsonian Archives of American Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Instytut Sztuki PAN, Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University, Government Museum and Art Gallery Chandigarh

Acknowledgments: Peter Nowicki z rodziną, Burak Erdim, Dominika Stecyk, Izabela Gola, Izabela Iwanicka-Dzierżawska, Piotr Kibort, Ewa Perlińska-Kobierzyńska, Katarzyna Iwańska-Rybka, Wanda Urbańska, Katie Mullen, Jesse Lazar, David Hill, Ireneusz Kotlewski, Małgorzata Wejsis-Gołębiak, A;neta Święcicka, Seema Gera, Isha Kamboj, Sangeeta Bagga, Jan Tyszowiecki.

Co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.