Kraków 2023

In a monumental leap for the project's international credibility, Michał Walczyk’s krakovian showcase was formally integrated into the pan-European celebration of the Day of Art Therapy in Europe (September 24, 2023).

Orchestrated in coordination with the Stowarzyszenie Psychiatria i Sztuka im. dr. Andrzeja Kowala and backed by the European Federation of Art Therapy (EFAT), Prof. Grażyna Borowik successfully projected Pan Miś’s raw creative philosophy as the premier standard of transformative therapeutic art across the entire continent.

The title of the exhibition directly references the curatorial concept of the "Geppetto Syndrome"—a deep, mystical, and profoundly paternal connection that Michał Walczyk shares with his creations.

In his feverish creative state, the wood-carved entities transcend mere physical matter. In his dreams, they awaken, communicate, and call him "Father"—offering a vital, symbolic compensation for the biological realities of his inability to establish a traditional family.

The exhibition was accompanied by the publication of a professional, peer-reviewed scientific and artistic catalog under the editorial guidance of Dr. Piotr Gierowski and Dariusz Tokarczyk.

This publication formally placed Michał’s raw material methodologies, multi-sided carvings, and urgent textual descriptions within the academic registers of contemporary Outsider Art and art history research.

To complement the dense sensory layout of the carvings and drawings, the gallery was transformed into a living acoustic environment through the conceptual soundscape installation titled "Synergia".

Featuring an original scenario, live execution, and musical arrangement composed and performed live on-site by JAROTOCHOWICZ, this audio-visual layer elevated the exhibition into an immersive, multi-sensory theater of raw art.