Opening of the Exhibition "Humanist Modernity: The Unbuilt Chandigarh of Maciej Nowicki”

12.05.2026

On 12 May 2026, Head of Mission Dr. Piotr Antoni Świtalski attended the inauguration of the exhibition "Humanist Modernity: The Unbuilt Chandigarh of Maciej Nowicki" at the Government Museum and Art Gallery in Chandigarh.

Head of Mission of the Embassy of Poland in New Delhi, Dr Piotr Antoni Świtalski, delivers a speech at a lectern decorated with orange and green flower garlands. A screen beside him displays the title of the exhibition, “Humanist Modernity: The Unbuilt Chandigarh of Maciej Nowicki,” together with a reproduction of an architectural drawing.

The exhibition was organized by the museum in cooperation with the Polish Institute in New Delhi and the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning in Warsaw.

The event brought together dignitaries, architects, scholars, and members of the cultural community to explore Maciej Nowicki’s unrealized vision for Chandigarh through original drawings, plans, and archival materials. The programme included addresses by Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, IAS, Secretary of Culture; exhibition curator Kacper Kępiński, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning; Dr. Piotr Antoni Świtalski; and Shri H. Rajesh Prasad, IAS, W/Chief Secretary.

Guests also watched a six-minute pilot film produced by the Polish Institute in New Delhi and directed by Suraj Kumar, introducing Nowicki’s human-centred approach to urban design and its wider architectural and historical significance.

A highlight of the evening was a live performance by Polish artist Michał Rudaś, serving as a cultural bridge between Poland and India. The programme concluded with a felicitation ceremony, the national anthem, ceremonial lamp lighting, and a guided tour of the exhibition. The event underlined the lasting relevance of Nowicki’s ideas and the importance of continued academic and cultural cooperation in architecture and urban planning.

Photos (4)

The exhibition curator guides a group of guests through the display and discusses materials related to Maciej Nowicki and the planning history of Chandigarh. Dr Piotr Antoni Świtalski is among the participants, while white exhibition panels with photographs, drawings, and descriptions of architectural projects are visible in the background.

Guests seated in an auditorium follow the inauguration of the exhibition devoted to Maciej Nowicki’s unrealized vision for Chandigarh. Representatives of public institutions and the architectural and cultural communities are seated in the front row, with a large audience visible behind them.

An overhead view of the exhibition space inside a modernist museum interior with exposed concrete columns. Drawings, photographs, and texts are displayed on freestanding white panels, while a large white graphic installation resembling an urban plan or stylized leaf is arranged on the floor.

During a ceremony Dr Piotr Antoni Świtalski is presented with a commemorative statuette. Other participants stand beside them, while the screen in the background displays the title “Humanist Modernity: The Unbuilt Chandigarh of Maciej Nowicki”; the front of the stage is decorated with colorful flowers.