Commissions

Must Contain
Barbara Kinga Majewska

Artist Barbara Kinga Majewska at the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, 2025. Image by Thomas Zanon-Larcher
Artist Barbara Kinga Majewska at the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, 2025. Image by Thomas Zanon-Larcher

Must Contain by Barbara Kinga Majewska, sound installation for audio-guide

Must Contain is a series of compositions for solo voice, created to be listened to through the Museum’s audio guide. The pieces relate to architecture, and the impact it has on the bodies that move within it. Focusing on the specific spatial environments of the Museum, the voice draws attention to what is near – the listener’s breath – and what is far – the lift shafts of the Palace of Culture and Science across the square – directing attention to both the physical states of the construction materials of the building as well as the listeners themselves.

The work is available to be experienced via the audio-guide of the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw during the festival Sonics & Scenics from 26 June to 21 September.

Commissioned by The Wapping Project, co-commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, for the festival Sonics & Scenics, supported by the British Council through UK/Poland Season 2025.

Artist Barbara Kinga Majewska during site visit to the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, 2025. Image by Thomas Zanon-Larcher Artist Barbara Kinga Majewska, curator Jagna Lewandowska, senior producer Anna Litwińska, and team of technicians looking after the museum's audio-guide during site visit to the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, 2025. Image by Thomas Zanon-Larcher Technicians looking after the museum's audio-guide during site visit to the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, 2025. Image by Thomas Zanon-Larcher

1 Artist Barbara Kinga Majewska during site visit to the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, 2025. Image by Thomas Zanon-Larcher

Barbara Kinga Majewska is a classically trained musician, composer, and creator of sound installations, specialising in contemporary vocal music. Across live performance, composition and studio experimentation,Majewska explores the intersections of voice, sound, and text, testing the boundaries of communication and expression. Her practice focuses on the non-musical contexts of singing and plays with the cultural constructs surrounding the act of signing. Her works have been presented at national and international institutions including: the National Museum in Warsaw; Zachęta National Gallery, Warsaw; Museum der Moderne Salzburg; Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; Kunsthaus Graz; House of Contemporary Culture Marres; and Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, among others. She is a regular guest at festivals such as Donaueschinger Musiktage, Warsaw Autumn, Unsound, Sacrum Profanum, and Malta Festival.