Cooper & Gorfer. Utopia
Schedule
- 9.05–31.10
- Monday: closed
Tickets
Reduced: PLN 20
Students and pupils aged 7–26: PLN 1
Group ticket (min. 10 people, organised groups), per person: PLN 18
7-day ticket: PLN 60 regular / PLN 45 reduced
The ticket entitles the holder to one-time admission to the permanent and temporary exhibitions at each branch of the Museum within seven days of the date of purchase.
Annual pass, transferable: PLN 150
The pass entitles the holder to unlimited admission to the permanent and temporary exhibitions at each branch of the Museum for one year from the date of purchase.
What remains when the world as we know it suddenly ends? And what begins in its place?
Utopia by the duo Cooper & Gorfer stems from questions about our ability to imagine the future in an increasingly unstable reality, shaped by wars, humanitarian crises, and climate change.
The exhibition is based on the stories of eleven young women whose lives have been shaped by migration and the need to weave their stories anew. The women come from Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq (Kurdistan), and Iran. Some arrived in Sweden during the 2015–2016 migration wave, while others were born there into migrant families. Their biographies, marked by displacement and a sudden rupture in their life narratives, offer a lens through which to examine the process of reassembling identity. It is in this state of suspension between worlds that a new sense of agency emerges, alongside the need to define one’s own belonging at the intersection of different languages, traditions and values.
Cooper & Gorfer have developed a working method in which the protagonists’ personal histories form an integral part of the creative process. The resulting photographs and video works are not documentary in nature. Instead, the artists construct visual narratives in which reality intertwines with symbolic and poetic elements.
The young women are portrayed in monumental, staged compositions reminiscent of historical and mythological iconography. The portraits feature personal artefacts, such as a ring, a necklace, a book or a grandmother’s shawl, which function as carriers of memory and material traces of the past.
Cooper & Gorfer’s works fuse the portraits with elements of architecture, nature, and objects of diverse cultural and historical origins. The resulting images evoke spaces in which different periods, locations and systems of meaning converge.
The portraits combine images of women with elements of architecture, nature, and with objects of diverse cultural and historical origins. This creates complex visual compositions inspired by literature, including Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities and Jorge Luis Borges’s Labyrinths. The resulting images depict spaces where different periods, locations and systems of meaning converge.
A central theme of the exhibition is a reflection on the invisible structures that shape our perception of the world and ourselves. Family histories, culture and socio-political contexts manifest as restless, multi-layered and ambivalent architectures. While they offer shelter and a sense of security, they can also constrain and narrow our understanding of reality.
These works present scenes that function as visualisations of inner states, where memory, emotion and experience condense. Fragmentary and unstable, these scenes intertwine and overlap, reflecting the logic of non-linear memory.
The Utopia of the title is reimagined and no longer signifies a vision of an ideal society. Derived from the Greek ou-topos, meaning ‘no place’, it does not refer to a non-existent land, but to a mode of thinking in which reality is not fixed. Utopia becomes an inner space – a realm of the imagination where established patterns can be unsettled. It is not a distant goal, but rather a daily practice of seeing, allowing us to move beyond what we take for granted. Ultimately, utopia is the courage to view the world with hope, trusting that it can still change at any moment.
Cooper & Gorfer are an international artist duo comprising Sarah Cooper (USA/Sweden, b. 1974) and Nina Gorfer (Austria, b. 1979). They are known for their boundary-breaking approach to portraiture. For nearly twenty years, they have expanded the scope of visual narration by combining photography with painting, textiles, collage and video.
Each work emerges from an intricate fusion of image, texture and storytelling, forming dense visual tapestries. Once present only as a metaphor in their work, collage has become central to their practice. Today, it serves both as a technique and a key to understanding their work.
Throughout their long-standing artistic practice, Cooper & Gorfer have consistently explored the intersection of history and identity. In My Quiet of Gold (2006–2011), they drew on Kyrgyz myths to reflect on the impact of traditions on the lives of women in rural Kyrgyzstan. This inquiry developed further in The Weather Diaries (2012–2014), where the artists analysed the impact of harsh natural conditions and isolation on the identity and creative expression of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
A reoccurring focus in their work is the confrontation with difficult complex heritage. In Interruptions (2015–2016), the artists gave voice to generations of Sámi women who have faced the consequences of colonisation. In I Know Not These My Hands (2011–2017), they traced the marks of political trauma and displacement in Argentina. Their most recent project, Hysteria (since 2022), extends this exploration of the human condition by reinterpreting female emotionality as a space of radical agency and inner strength.
Cooper & Gorfer are based in Sweden. They have exhibited internationally at venues such as Fotografiska in Stockholm and New York, the Hasselblad Centre in Gothenburg, and the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). They are represented by Larsen Warner and Jackson Fine Art.
Exhibition credits
curators: Gabriela Brdej, Waldemar Elwart
exhibition design: Natalia Fierka, Michał Pecko, Aleksandra Rokicka
visual identity and graphic design: Michał Pecko
artistic consultation: Wiktoria Michałkiewicz
editing and proofreading: Agnieszka Kochanowska
translation: Anna Zbróg
installation coordination: Joanna Librowska, Paweł Powirski
exhibition installation: Jan Klosskowski, Wojciech Procki, Krzysztof Ruciński, Alfred Szkudlarek, Sławomir Wojtkowski
ppromotion: Agnieszka Kochanowska, Justyna Sobotka, Paulina Szwaj
education: Kamila Glazer
organizational support: Marta Cyuńczyk, Mariusz Grym, Małgorzata Maciakowska, Małgorzata Ruszkowska
audience attendants: Katarzyna Duleńska, Agata Kruszlińska, Anna Paprocka, Marzena Studzińska, Anna Stypułkowska, Anna Zugaj
director: Piotr Stasiowski
Regular: PLN 25
Reduced: PLN 20
Students and pupils aged 7–26: PLN 1
Family/Friends ticket (3–8 people), per person: PLN 18
Group ticket (min. 10 people, organised groups), per person: PLN 18
7-day ticket: PLN 60 regular / PLN 45 reduced
The ticket entitles the holder to one-time admission to the permanent and temporary exhibitions at each branch of the Museum within seven days of the date of purchase.
Annual pass, transferable: PLN 150
The pass entitles the holder to unlimited admission to the permanent and temporary exhibitions at each branch of the Museum for one year from the date of purchase.
Curator-led tours of the exhibition: included in the exhibition admission ticket.
Guided tours for organised groups: PLN 300 per group + museum admission ticket.
We would like to inform you that all people fleeing war and those accompanying them are entitled to free admission. A verbal declaration is sufficient.
There is no free admission day.
We would like to inform you that all war refugees and their accompanying persons are entitled to free addmission. All you need to do is to give a verbal declaration.
Concessions and ticket exemptions are available. Reduced-price tickets are offered, among others, to school and university students, holders of the Large Family Card, and people with disabilities and their carers. Free admission is available, among others, to museum professionals, ICOM and AICA members, tourist guides and journalists.
For the full list of concessions and exemptions and the applicable terms, please click here: Discounts and Exemptions and Documents Confirming Eligibility
The Green Gate branch of the National Museum in Gdańsk is located at 24 Długi Targ, in the heart of the Main Town, on the Motława River. The Green Gate building marks the end of Długi Targ on the riverside and stands right next to the Green Bridge.
On foot
The Green Gate is easiest to reach on foot. It is about 300 metres from Neptune’s Fountain and Artus Court – simply walk along Długi Targ towards the Motława River.
From the Brama Wyżynna (Upland Gate), the walk takes about 10 minutes. The route leads along Długa Street and Długi Targ.
From the Długie Pobrzeże (Long Embankment), Granary Island and the footbridge to Ołowianka Island, the Green Gate can be reached within a few to several minutes on foot.
By train – SKM and POLREGIO
The nearest railway station is Gdańsk Śródmieście. From the station, the Green Gate is about a 15-minute walk. Head towards the Main Town, then follow Długa Street and Długi Targ towards the Motława River.
From Gdańsk Główny railway station, the walk takes about 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can take the tram one stop to the Upland Gate, then continue on foot.
By tram
The most convenient stop is Brama Wyżynna (Upland Gate), one of the main public transport hubs in central Gdańsk.
Tram lines 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9, among others, stop here. The Green Gate is about 700 metres from the Upland Gate, a walk of approximately 10 minutes along Długa Street and Długi Targ towards the Motława River.
You can also use the stops around Gdańsk Śródmieście SKM station and continue on foot.
By bus
The most convenient bus stop is Brama Wyżynna (Upland Gate). Numerous city bus lines stop here, including 106, 108, 111, 112, 123, 130, 132, 138, 154, 167, 178, 184, 186, 189, 199, 200, 205, 207, 208, 210, 232 and 289.
From the stop, walk along Długa Street and Długi Targ towards the Motława River. The walk takes about 10 minutes.
From the airport
From Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, take a PKM train to Gdańsk Wrzeszcz station, then change to an SKM train towards Gdańsk Śródmieście. From Gdańsk Śródmieście station, continue on foot through the city centre.
By car
The Green Gate is located in Gdańsk’s historic city centre, where car traffic is restricted. It is not possible to drive directly to the museum entrance.
The most convenient option is to leave your car at one of the car parks in central Gdańsk and walk the remaining distance. Parking spaces and car parks are available, among other places, around Podwale Przedmiejskie, Okopowa Street and Granary Island.
By bicycle
The Green Gate can easily be reached by bicycle from various parts of central Gdańsk. Due to heavy pedestrian traffic on Długi Targ and in the immediate vicinity of the Green Gate, please take particular care and dismount your bicycle on the final section of the route.
- The entrance to the building is from Długi Targ Street. There is one step leading to the entrance.
- The ticket desk is located directly opposite the entrance.
- An induction loop is available at the ticket desk. Sign language interpretation is also available online.
- A self-service coat rack is available in the publicly accessible area of the building.
- Doorways and circulation routes in the building meet accessibility requirements.
- The exhibition galleries on the first and second floors can be accessed by stairs or lift.
- The building does not have an accessible toilet for people with disabilities.
- There is no baby changing table in the toilet.
- The building does not have tactile maps, Braille signage or an audio navigation system for blind visitors.
- Assistance dogs and guide dogs are welcome in the building. There are no restrictions in this regard.
- There is no designated accessible parking space for people with disabilities at the museum.
- The nearest accessible parking spaces are located on the streets and in car parks in the Main Town, near Długi Targ Street and Długa Street.
