Tekst i zdjęcia: Zosia Zeleska-Bobrowski
Our Story
The inspiration for founding the Photographers’ Club came from the “Evening with Photography” event organized by the Polonia Travelers Club in May 1998. For this event, President Jerzy Majcherczyk invited five renowned photographers to the Polish Consulate in New York: Jerzy Gać, Wojtek Kubik, Zosia Żeleska-Bobrowski, Jerzy Koss, and Jarosław Woszczyna to give presentations and short lectures on photography. The immense interest in this topic exceeded the expectations of the organizers and the speakers themselves. It was from then on that they began discussing the need to organize group dedicated to photography.
The outline of the club’s activities was conceived in the beautiful setting of Madison Park, in Manhattan, outside Jerzy Koss’s home, and was captured in a photo by his granddaughter Violetta Koss. Just over a month later, on June 24, at the initiative of Romuald Dymski, an inaugural meeting of the club was organized at the Nowy Dziennik Gallery, which was named the Polish Photographer’s Club of America. Jarosław Woszczyna became the first president, who started publishing a monthly magazine called “Fokus,” and the board consisted of photographers from the Consulate meeting. The club was sponsored by Nowy Dziennik, and Romuald Dymski became its honorary president.
The club began its activities with many initiatives. Regular monthly meetings on photography topics, equipment, and photographic techniques started taking place at the Nowy Dziennik Gallery. Well-known photographers, with Ryszard Horowitz & Eva Rubinstein at the forefront, were invited to present their works. Horowitz became the honorary president of the club. Jerzy Koss was elected as the second president of the club, leading it for the next two years.
The culmination of the club’s first year of activity was the first Photographic Salon, organized almost exactly on the anniversary of the club’s founding. Fifty photographers participated. The opening on July 7, 1999, was attended by many cultural figures, including the distinguished jazz pianist Adam Makowicz, the prominent film actress Elżbieta Czyżewska, artists Rafał Olbiński, Janusz Kapusta, Krzysztof Zacharow, Krzysztof Zarębski, poet Anna Frajlich, from the film world Hanna Hartowicz, and art promoter Marian Żak. Eva Rubinstein and Ryszard Horowitz presented their works. Polish media, newspapers, and television were well represented, including Nowy Dziennik, Kurier Plus, Studio 3 TV, Channel 25 WNYE, TV Antenna Inc., and the PAP correspondent at the UN.
In its second year, the club placed great emphasis on popularizing the art of photography within the Polish community. Many people attended presentations at the Nowy Dziennik Gallery. At that time, the “Photo of the Month” contest was very popular. From June 6 to 13, 2000, the club held its second Photographic Salon, with 52 photographers participating. For the first time, a high-quality exhibition catalog was produced. It’s worth noting the significant involvement and participation in the opening of both salons by Consul Dariusz Jadowski. Subsequent presidents were successively Zosia Żeleska-Bobrowski, Wojtek Kubik, Wiesław Zdaniewski, Edward Madej and from 2023 Dariusz Kanarek.
The Sixth Salon, as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations, took place in 2008 and lasted for an entire week. During this event, the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in New York, Krzysztof Kasprzyk, awarded medals and badges to members of the Polish Photography Club, conferred by the Minister of Culture, Bogdan Zdrojewski. Ryszard Horowitz received the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture “Gloria Artis,” Eva Rubinstein received the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture “Gloria Artis,” Jerzy Koss received the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture “Gloria Artis,” and Wojtek Kubik and Zosia Zeleska-Bobrowski received Honorary Badges for Merit to Polish Culture. Finally, the Polish Photography Club itself was awarded the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture “Gloria Artis,” which was accepted by the club’s president, Edward Madej.
The Tenth Salon, as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations, took place in 2019. For thirteen years, the Club was housed in the offices of the Nowy Dziennik; subsequently, for eleven years, it did not have a permanent meeting place. It wasn’t until 2022 that the new authorities of the Polish-Slavic Center welcomed the Club into their headquarters.
At the anniversary exhibition, which had its vernissage at Polish & Slavic Center on March 4th and finissage on March 31st, kicking off the Club’s 25th anniversary titled “Fryderyk Dammont and Friends,” Mr. Fryderyk, celebrating his 100th birthday, and 26 members of the Club participated. This event was held under the patronage of the consulate and with the participation of the Consul General, Adrian Kubicki.
All Salons were held in the hospitable premises of the Consulate. The Polish-American Photography Club is an exceptionally close-knit group of people united by a shared passion for creating art through the lens. A forum of people involved in the same interests, sharing knowledge and experience regardless of the level of involvement. The Club has hosted photographers such as Tomek Sikora, Czesław Czapliński, Rick Sammon and Artur Tabor. The participation in the Salons of both outstanding photographers and amateurs is unmatched, that a seemingly risky principle is required and is the driving force of the club’s activities.
