Itd was dedicated to culture and social topics and published by the Polish Students’ Association. The period between October 1960 and May 1990 saw the publication of as many as 1513 issues of the magazine originally entitled itd. Ilustrowany magazyn studencki, later renamed to itd. Magazyn and ultimately known as itd. Tygodnik studencki. The layout, and photography in particular, played a very important role, as every single issue included a photo reportage.

The exhibition marks the 60th anniversary of the foundation of itd and presents selected works of twenty photojournalists. Among them we will find the names that had a great impact on Polish post-war press photography. This esteemed group includes: Krzysztof Barański, Andrzej Baturo, Sławek Biegański, Dorota Bilska, Stanisław Ciok, Adam Hayder, Andrzej Kiełbowicz, Witold Kuliński, Jan Michlewski, Maciej Musiał, Anna Musiałówna, Sławomir Olzacki, Maciej Osiecki, Krzysztof Pawela, Włodzimierz Pniewski, Andrzej Polec, Janusz Sobolewski, Jacek Wcisło, Krzysztof Wojciewski, and Krzysztof Wójcik. We will also see portraits made by Krzysztof Gierałtowski.

“They took excellent photographs, understood the context of an event, the significance of a subject, saw the absurdities of life in the Polish People’s Republic and knew how to depict them. They travelled to smaller towns armed with an official letter confirming their collaboration with the magazine. This alone often allowed them to access factories and private homes. After breaking the ice, they were able to freely examine and photograph the truth about the life of the then Poland, often sad and grey, yet still authentic”, says Krzysztof Wójcik, the curator of the exhibition and a former itd photojournalist.

Apart from photo reportages, we will show you portraits of photographers, double-page spreads from itd and archival materials. On the one hand, this is a tale about a changing country and reality of its citizens, and on the other – recollection of work of two generations of photojournalists. They tried to see more clearly, to discuss vital social issues and topics which were overlooked for being inconvenient for the authorities. Today these pictures are labelled ‘sociological photography’.

“After 1990, photojournalism never again played such an important role in Poland as it did in the grey times of the Polish People’s Republic. Contrary to the intentions of the authorities and all the challenges faced, the photojournalists of itd succeeded in creating brilliant photographic documentation of those times”, adds Krzysztof Wójcik.

It is accompanied by an album which comprises almost 140 photos from the years 1960–1990 chosen mainly from the archives of the FORUM Polish Photographers Agency.