Following the horrors of World War II, most of Europe was left in ruins and the city of Elblag in Poland was no exception. This Hanseatic League city was nearly completely flattened along with the church of The Blessed Virgin Mary in its historic center.
The church lay in ruins without funding to rebuild until 1961, when local artist Gerard Kwiatkowski approached the government with a proposition. He was to use the site of the church ruins as a modern exploratory art museum. With a space that provided no protection from the elements, he hosted modern sculpture art shows.
The shows of three-dimensional art forms proved to be successful, drawing international and UNESCO awards. All the positive attention on the art gallery earned funding from regional Polish authorities to rebuild the church, primarily the roof. The renovations provided a showroom with lots of natural light, large public spaces, and most importantly protection from the rain.
With the EL Galeria blossoming, Gerard left to continue his art career elsewhere and the gallery was passed on to other museum curators. The legacy of the original EL Gallery continues today in the monastery-turned-art gallery. In addition to viewing art, visitors can attend jazz performances and art discussions in the gallery’s courtyard.
