Dear AIPA Members,
I am happy to report that the last eleven months following our AGM in November 2021 were very
fruitful.
Firstly, we conducted a thorough revision of our members’ register. This meant collecting and
reviewing information from all members and correcting any inaccuracies in the register. Physical
addresses, emails, names, and titles have all been updated. We also put in place mechanisms that
will prevent the register from becoming out of date in the future. It was a mammoth task but of
critical importance for our future communication. I thank all the members for filling in the
questionnaires.
Secondly, we reviewed AIPA’s Statutory Rules (Constitution). This huge task took six months and
involved several Subcommittee meetings and discussions. At the Special General Meeting (SGM)
on 25 June 2022, proposed amendments to Statutory Rules were voted on and several minor
changes were introduced to the wording of specific paragraphs. We clarified previously
misinterpreted paragraphs, such as the voting status of bona fide couples.
Despite the time-consuming bureaucratic tasks, AIPA continued to organise events.
Covid-19 continued to affect us in 2021, yet even during the lockdowns, AIPA managed to increase
the number of guests and events. The list of guests during 2021-22 lockdowns includes such
distinguished speakers as Professor Rafał Pankowski, co-founder of Poland’s leading anti-racist
organization ‘NEVER AGAIN’, Professor Stanisław Obirek, cultural anthropologist interested in
the place of religion in modern cultures, inter-religious dialogue, and strategies for overcoming
conflicts between different civilizations and cultures, and Radosław Sikorski, a distinguished
politician and author, a Member of the European Parliament, and Poland’s former Minister of
Foreign Affairs. Special thanks to Gosia Klatt and Jan Pakulski, who were instrumental in
organising these events.
This trend continued in 2022. Several successful online seminars followed. Our Zoom webinar
on Polish Aid to Ukrainian Museums and National Heritage Amid Russia’s Invasion attracted over
one hundred participants. Special thanks to AIPA members Irena Zdanowicz and Joanna Lang, the
event organisers. The webinar was supported by the Australian Institute of Art History (AIAH) and
the Centre of Visual Art (CoVA), University of Melbourne.
Online presentations attracted new audiences and participants from around the world.
Please see the long list of events on our website. You may also access the recordings on the AIPA
YouTube channel.
We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible, both online and in person, at our upcoming
functions and we would welcome hearing about your ideas for future initiatives!
Below is a detailed list of key events and activities that have either been initiated by AIPA, or
with which the Institute has been involved in other ways. The list contains both online and live
events.
Alexandra Dunwill, the AIPA President
