Варшавадағы «Захента» ұлттық өнер галереясы

The Zachęta National Gallery of Art (Polish: Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki) is a contemporary art museum in the center of Warsaw, Poland. The Gallery's chief purpose is to present and support Polish contemporary art and artists. With numerous temporary exhibitions of well known foreign artists, the gallery has also established itself internationally. The word "zachęta" means encouragement. The Zachęta Gallery takes its name from Towarzystwo Zachęty do Sztuk Pięknych (Society for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts), founded in Warsaw in 1860.

Before 1860 there were neither public museums nor libraries nor other generally accessible institutions that allowed for exchange between artists. The repression that resulted from the November Uprising, made higher artistic education virtually impossible. The last major exhibition took place in 1845. After protests by artists during the 1850s, the Wystawa Krajowa Sztuk Pięknych (National Exhibition of Fine Arts) was approved in 1858, and lead to negotiations with Russian rulers who in the end permitted the foundation of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in 1860. The Society's statutes were set by artists and art experts. The first official meeting and the election of a board of directors took place on 13 December 1860. The board had twelve members, six artists and six art experts, and was elected annually. The members remained in office for at least one month but no longer than one year. The primary aim of the Society was the dissemination of fine arts as well as support and encouragement of artists. Furthermore, its intention was to create general awareness of art among the Polish society. In 1860 the Society had 234 official registered members. Only one year later the number had increased to 1464. Initially, all artworks were on display until they were sold. Soon enough that lead to crowded walls and a monotonous permanent exhibition. After fundamental changes made between 1900 and 1939, the permanent exhibition was shown only in addition to temporarily changing exhibitions. The Society hosted annual salons, funded scholarships and offered other aid to young artists, both members and candidates.

First tenders for the design of a new building were put out in 1862. However, due to a lack of financial resources the plans were not realized. After the Society was given land by the municipality, another competition was announced in 1894, won by the Warsaw architect, Stefan Szyller. He presented an architectural design in neo Renaissance style with classical elements. The portal is ornamented with allegorical figures and sculptural works by Zygmunt Otto. The architrave of the building is engraved with the Latin word Artibus. Construction work began in 1898. In December 1900, the front building was officially opened followed by the opening of the south wing in 1903. Objects have come mainly from donations and wills. At the end of the 19th century, the collection already comprised over one thousand items. The permanent collection of Zachęta National Gallery of Art today comprises 3600 objects of which about 700 are paintings, almost 80 are video works and around 100 are sculptures and installations. In addition, the gallery owns an extensive collection of over 2600 works on paper such as graphic works, drawings and photographs. Polish artists from the 20th century, like Tadeusz Kantor, Henryk Stażewski and Alina Szapocznikow, are represented within the collection as well as Polish contemporary artists such as Mirosław Bałka, Katarzyna Kozyra, Zbigniew Libera, Wilhelm Sasnal and Krzysztof Wodiczko. The works of the collection not only reflect the often complicated past of the institution, but also show the focus of the gallery. Today, it concentrates on works of contemporary Polish artists, including works that have been shown in the gallery as well as works which were produced in cooperation with the gallery. Some of these projects are exhibited in other locations, such as the Polish Pavilion at the Biennale in Venice. There is no permanent exhibition of the collection. The works either become integrated in temporary shows or are on loan for exhibitions in other Polish institutions or abroad. Decisions about changes to the collection are made by the Commission for Purchases, Donations and Deposits, formed in 1990. Since 2008, the Department of Collections and Inventories is responsible for taking care of Zachęta's collection.

The Kordegarda Gallery (literally: guardroom) was founded in 1956 as a branch of the Zachęta and situated on Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw. It was an additional exhibition space, directed and organised by Zachęta, yet to a certain extent independent with regard to its exhibition programme. In 2010, the Kordegarda Gallery moved to Gałczynskiego street, just off the historic Ulica Nowy Świat (New World Street). While still directed by the Zachęta, the Kordegarda Gallery became more independent, devoting its attention to young artists, both Polish and foreign. The main idea is to present the artists within the context of urban structures and emphasize the cooperation of artist and gallery. In fact, the exhibition room is just as important as the art within, which is why every artist is asked to work individually with the exhibition room and design the artwork, especially for the given space. Currently, the Zachęta is updating both the concept and programme of the Kordegarda Gallery.

In the past, the influence of the catholic church in Poland was demonstrated by the censoring of various exhibitions due to blasphemy. In December 2000, the Polish right wing politician Witold Tomczak damaged Maurizio Cattelan's sculpture, La Nona Ora, and prompted the dismissal of director, Anda Rottenberg. In a letter addressed to the prime minister, Tomczak denounced Rottenberg, suggested that she should curate "rather in Israel than in Poland", and then demanded the dismissal of the "civil servant of Jewish origin". He also proposed prosecution due to violation of religious sentiments.