Deaf Culture | Meeting with Daniel Kotowski

What?

What is Deaf culture, and how can it change the way we think about language, communication, and relationships? Can art become a space where Deaf and hearing cultures meet without one being subordinated to the other? And what will happen if we challenge the belief that language must be heard in order to produce meaning, knowledge, and community?

The premiere of the work “CRYING/TRYING” during the Łódź Multicultural Festival and the screening of the film “Freak Show” will be accompanied by a discussion with the creator of both works—Daniel Kotowski, one of the most distinctive contemporary Polish artists. In 2026, together with Bogna Burska, he represented Poland at the 61st Venice Biennale.

In his practice, Kotowski examines how the hearing majority establishes its own modes of communication as an invisible and seemingly neutral norm. His art stems from the personal experience of a Deaf artist, but it transcends autobiography, becoming a critical reflection on the mechanisms of visibility, exclusion, and the social construction of norms.

During the meeting, we will discuss the experience of Deaf people as a cultural and linguistic experience that cannot be described solely through medical categories of absence or disability. Other important topics will include the presence of sign language in art and the way in which Deaf culture and communication are perceived by the hearing majority. The conversation will also touch on Kotowski’s queer identity and how different experiences can intertwine, serving as a starting point for critical reflection on the norm, representation, and the right to live by one’s own rules.

The meeting is a accompanying event of the 2026 Łódź Of Many Cultures Festival and is taking place as part of a separate project titled “PJM: Language, Culture, Identity.”

Who?

Daniel Kotowski—visual artist, performer, and curator. His artistic practice stems from his experience as a Deaf and queer person and centers on language, communication, social norms, visibility, and mechanisms of exclusion. Through performance, video, and visual art, Kotowski challenges dominant modes of communication and draws attention to how the norms of the hearing majority shape social space. In 2026, together with Bogna Burska, he represented Poland at the 61st Venice Biennale.

Agata Siwiak—curator and theater producer, researcher, and university lecturer—focuses primarily on socially and politically engaged contemporary art. In her curatorial practice, she creates projects that address issues of representation, exclusion, community, and the responsibility of cultural institutions.

For Whom?

This event is intended for young people aged 16 and older and adults—both Deaf and hearing individuals. We invite anyone interested in contemporary art, Deaf culture, Polish Sign Language, queer issues, communication, and the social dimension of art. You don’t need to be familiar with Daniel Kotowski’s previous work or have any specialized knowledge—the event is designed as an open conversation where you can join in with your own questions and experiences.

Why is it worth it?

The Łódź of Many Cultures Festival views multiculturalism not only as the coexistence of different traditions or nationalities, but also as an encounter between different languages, identities, and ways of experiencing the world. A conversation with Daniel Kotowski allows us to broaden this perspective to include Deaf culture—not as an area that merely needs to be “made accessible” by mainstream culture, but as an autonomous culture with its own language, experiences, and ways of producing meaning.

Kotowski’s work raises an even more challenging question: who actually sets the rules of communication and decides what we consider the norm? The event will be an opportunity to use art to examine the relationships between language and power, visibility and exclusion, and the various dimensions of identity. In this sense, this is not merely a discussion about Deaf culture, but about how we can create a shared space in which difference does not require submission to the dominant majority.

Availability

The meeting will be conducted in a way that allows both Deaf and hearing people to participate—interpretation into Polish Sign Language (PJM) and spoken Polish will be provided.

The event will take place at the Center for Dialogue in the theater and theater hall, which is equipped with an induction loop. The Center for Dialogue building is accessible to people with mobility impairments. It has wide, non-automatic entrance doors, an accessible restroom, and an elevator. The theater hall is located on the ground floor, has a ramp, and the auditorium includes spaces for people in wheelchairs. In front of the building, there is a large parking lot with marked spaces for people with disabilities. Assistance dogs and guide dogs are welcome both inside the building and in the auditorium. The building is equipped with the ToTuPoint audio navigation system. The entrance to the parking lot is on Wojska Polskiego Street. Nearby bus and tram stops include: Wojska Polskiego/Centrum Dialogu and Wojska Polskiego/Sporna.