• Deadline for submissions: 25 April 2025
• Issue publication: September 2025
• Thematic issue editor: Piotr Oszczanowski, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof. (University of Wrocław), Director of the National Museum in Wrocław

The next thematic issue of “Quart” will discuss the proposed topic of Wrocław’s general and curated collections, covering its broadest possible chronological and typological scope, as well as the widest spectrum of related research questions. While the definitions and boundaries of these terms are not precise, we propose, as a general and working assumption, that a general collection is a wider, overarching concept, while a curated collection represents a narrower one. Consequently, museum general collections include various curated collections. The formation of curated collections has been guided by a more specific intention, focused on particular types of objects, time periods, or themes.

We invite submissions of articles that may address topics such as:

• Creators of general and curated collections: their origins, significance, disintegration, distinctive features, and unique character. The chronological scope of these reflections may include, for instance, the medieval history of church collections and the development of modern collections, e.g. those of the proto-museum type, or that belonged to Wrocław patricians and aristocrats, which can also be analysed in a broader European context.
• The 19th-century history of institutional museum collections, both ecclesiastical and public. Particularly interesting in this context is the turbulent and tragic fate of Wrocław museology in the 1940s, especially the scale of losses, the dispersal/displacement of Wrocław museum collections all over Poland, their illegal trade, and “export” outside the country.
• Restitution of Wrocław museum collections from 1945 to the present, including initiatives coordinated by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
• Contemporary private collections and their (in)visibility in the public sphere.
• Contemporary Wrocław museums and galleries: papers could discuss the characteristics of these institutions, their exhibition projects, expansion and specific nature of collections, venues (architecture, and insufficient museum and exhibition spaces), innovative projects and failures, undertakings addressing issues of participation, diversity, inclusivity, and complementarity, as well as abandoned projects.
• The future of Wrocław museology and art galleries: exploring questions such as the direction Wrocław museology is heading, the limitations it faces, opportunities offered by the present era (from AI and digital transformation to support provided by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – KPO), and the impact of current investments on the future standing of Wrocław museology.

We look forward to your contributions!

Articles (from 20,000 to 40,000 characters, in Polish or English, with the option to include up to 10 illustrations) should be formatted according to the guidelines (available for download on the website https://wuwr.pl/quart/libraryFiles/downloadPublic/99) and submitted to quart@uwr.edu.pl by 25 April 2024.

The editorial team reserves the right to select submissions. Each paper chosen for publication will undergo a double-blind peer review process.