How I Became a Famous Art Curator in Wrocław
By Anna Biela, Ph.D.
God had placed a vision in me, and I’m going to tell you how it happened.
It all started at Haus der Kunst in Munich, where I participated in my first-ever Art Camp at the end of June 2012.
When I realized the magnitude of where I was—and who had come before me—something shifted inside me. I could feel the energy of all the great artists who had exhibited there before me. I was deeply inspired.
So, when my new art friends suggested that I should do something similar in Wrocław and invite them, I immediately jumped at the idea. Honestly, I was so grateful that they wanted to come all the way from Munich to Wrocław. I was riding a wave of inspiration that went far beyond the energy of the artists who had come before me and even the artists who were there with me.
And they were all in Wrocław for MADOA that same year, in September—just two months from the initial idea to its execution.
Looking back now, I know it had everything to do with Jesus Christ.
As I mentioned in Part I, one of my friends had contacted me and invited me to the Art Camp, which was sponsored by the Polish Consulate in Munich and organized by Robert Rynarzewski, a Polish artist who had lived in Germany since the 1980s.
Robert lived in Delling, about 30 kilometers from Haus der Kunst and the English Garden, and that is where we all stayed, at his farmhouse art studio.
I drove to Munich with Ewa Pańczyk Hałubiec, who was a new friend—we had only met once before to figure out the logistics. We got into the car and drove together to Delling to participate in the Art Camp.
It was a seven-hour drive, so we had plenty of time to talk and exchange views on many different topics. And, of course, we also talked about our faith.
At the time, I was immersed in the New Age worldview.
Ewa explained her Catholic perspective to me. She told me that she had Jesus as her best friend. That they had a relationship. That they talked.
I found this strange, but at the same time, incredibly intriguing.
Naturally, I was curious, so I asked her many questions. She explained to me how this relationship with Jesus played out in her everyday life.
At that time, I believed in Jesus. I am Catholic, but I saw Him more as a metaphor of the Heart Chakra—a spiritual figure or symbol of divine love—rather than as an actual living presence, God, or someone I could personally have a relationship with.
At Art Camps, it is quite common to stay up until the late hours of the night, drink, talk about life and art, and simply hang out together. Then, the next morning, we would wake up early and head to Haus der Kunst for another day of creating art.
The Art Camp lasted around ten days. We spent about five days at Haus der Kunst, creating our work and presenting it as we worked to the art curators and visitors.
One morning, I woke up feeling sick.
As I have often done since 1997, I started doing hands-on healing on myself to calm my nervous system, relax my breathing, and absorb the pain.
While I was doing it, I remembered the conversation I had had with Ewa during our drive to Munich.
And I thought to myself:
It won’t hurt to ask Jesus to become my best friend.
So I did.
And that was the moment my life began to change.
The strange thing is that I didn’t fully understand what had happened at the time. I only realized it about three weeks later.
You see, everything started falling into place, and somehow I organized a huge event at Honda Biela without ever having the experience or know-how to do it. But somehow, I just knew what to do.
In Part III of the story, I will tell you about the first Art Camp I organized in Wrocław: MADOA — Multicultural Art and Design Open Air, under the patronage of Wrocław European Capital of Culture 2016.
That was the beginning of the vision God had placed in me in Munich, after I invited Him to become my best friend.
But I also knew that this was connected to the vision of the He[art] Art Movement that God had shown me in August 2005, pertaining to my calling and my purpose.
And I had no idea where it was going to take me.
It is still taking me.