The Solidarnosc Museum, Gdansk

At the beginning of March (I know, I know, I am SO behind) Anneke, another volunteer living close by, and I went to the Solidarnosc Museum near the centre of Gdansk. In all truth, I knew nothing about Solidarnosc before setting foot in this museum, but I left with great empathy for all Poles who lived through this time of suppression and scarcity, and a massive respect for those who drove the change and stand for freedom that was at the core of this movement. I also left kind of wanting to have a career in designing museum exhibitions...

Hard hats of shipyard workers from the beginning of the Solidarnosc movement, affixed to the ceiling

The original plywood boards outlining the twenty-one commands of the shipyard strikers

...I mean, this museum was so well designed. It was multimedia, interactive, and - most importantly, it not only presented information by giving you screeds and screeds to read. Each room was unique, interesting, and conveyed its own message through form and aesthetics, and let the artefacts, footage and photographs predominantly speak for themselves - the audio guide also helped. Seriously the best  museum I've been to so far.

The Iron Curtain

A 'seismograph' showing the build in friction between the communist heads of state and the common people,
throughout the USSR

You could view photos of rioting and protests through these cool as vintage cameras

Even the building itself was an architectural gem 

A reconstruction of 'the round table talks'

My favourite room was the last one we entered, the 'labyrinth' room. It was dominated in the centre by a mini maze of white walls with a brick-like pattern. On each of the bricks was one basic human right, in languages from across the globe. From time to time, some of the bricks light up, making the words easier to read. On other walls, footage subtly played - mere shadows - of people, just coming together, or united, all in one place. Then running the length of one wall was a massive Solidarnosc logo, made entirely of little red and white cards with museum-goer's thoughts, impressions and reviews on them - a kind of guest book, but it so resonated with me.

...As did the rest of the museum.

Love,

Addie xx