History

The Polish Social and Cultural Association (Polski Ośrodek Społeczno-Kulturalny – POSK for short) was founded in 1964 at the initiative of Professor Roman Wajda. The building work was funded entirely by donations from the Polish community, who had settled in the UK during and after World War ll, and a number of UK-based Polish organisations.

Built between 1971 and 1974, the building is a fine example of brutalist architecture, and the largest Polish cultural centre in Europe outside of Poland, with many Polish organisations choosing to have their headquarters offices here.

The Poles who settled in the UK during and after the War consisted in the main of military veterans and their families, those who had been forcibly deported to the far reaches of the Soviet Union, and those who had suffered under Nazi occupation. They either chose not to return to Poland following the country’s take-over by the Communists, because they knew they would face certain imprisonment or even sentence of death by the new authorities, or could not go back as their homes in the Eastern Territories had now been absorbed into the Soviet Union, so were in effect, refugees.

Culture

Through its activities, POSK’s primary aims are to encourage the entire Polish community to help promote and take part in Polish culture, history and art in all its forms in the UK.
The building houses the largest Polish Library outside of Poland, which contains a vast collection of Polish literature, important archives and such historic artefacts as a 1791 English language edition of the Polish Constitution of that same year, only the second such document to be enacted in the world (after the US Constitution).

The theatre, which opened in 1982, maintains a rich cultural programme of both Polish and English events - plays, concerts, ballet and opera. A more recent addition is the Jazz Café, which opened in 2005, and maintains a varied programme of music events. Indeed, its Saturday night concerts are sold out most weeks!

While the ground floor art gallery hosts a regular programme of exhibitions throughout the year, the entire building is an art gallery in its own right, having a permanent display of artworks in all the public spaces, most notably works by Feliks Topolski, Josef Herman and Henryk Gotlib.

The Joseph Conrad Society is based here and meets in the Conrad Room, with a permanent exhibition dedicated to his life on display in the Library.

The Piłsudski Institute can also be found here, a study centre containing archival material relating to Polish history and in particular to Poland’s great inter-war leader Marshal Józef Piłsudski. Its small museum has on display artefacts relating to 19th and 20th century Polish history.

Amenities

The ground floor contains a Polish book and gift shop, with literature both in English and Polish.

The Łowiczanka restaurant on the first floor is open seven days a week and serves excellent traditional Polish food, as does Café Maja on the ground floor.

POSKlub, a members club on the top floor, has an extensive balcony area, with fine views overlooking Hammersmith and the Thames riverside.

A recent addition within the building is a refurbished Atrium area on the third floor. With a newly-installed transparent roof, this will be a multi-purpose performance and exhibition area. On its walls we have installed sections of a large wall sculpture that used to adorn the recently-closed Camberwell Green Magistrates Court. The artist was Tadeusz Adam Zielinski, whose work, mostly religious in nature, can also be found in a number of Polish churches and centres throughout the UK