New York, the Mecca of the Art World. Initial Study on Polish Migrant Artists who Left for the United States, 1986–1995

Abstract

The paper strives to characterize the circle of Polish visual artists who left for the United States in the late 20th century and settled in New York City, where they continued their careers. For the purposes of the paper, the subject matter has been focused on an excerpt from an ample research problem i.e. the analysis of the history of the Polish American Artists Society (PAAS,) operating in New York from 1986 through 1995. Their activities form the basis for the analysis and constitute a database to construct a more profound picture of the organization. Therefore, the years in which PAAS operated shall also constitute the paper’s framework. To foster simplicity, the term ‘artist’ and ‘artists’ shall be used to refer to visual artists born in Poland who came to New York City mainly in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, permanently resided in the United States, and worked as visual artists, regardless of the technique they adopted, be it painters, sculptors, photographers, graphic artists, illustrators, performers, artistic fabric weavers, or video artists. The paper uses their micro-stories to illustrate the phenomenon behind the prolific community of Polish artists in New York City from 1986 through 1995. It is based on research on PAAS, which has become the basis for a monographic book about the Society.