Immersive exhibition – a journey to a city from 100 years ago
Retro Warsaw returns to Art Box Experience. The pre-war capital comes back to life at Fabryka Norblina.
From July 1, Art Box Experience in Warsaw’s Fabryka Norblina will once again host “Retro Warsaw” – one of the most unique and emotionally engaging immersive exhibitions dedicated to the history of the Polish capital. It is an extraordinary journey into pre-war Warsaw – a city full of energy, contrasts, and multicultural life.
Thanks to cutting-edge image reconstruction technologies, colourisation of archival materials, and immersive projection systems, historic Warsaw regains its colours, rhythm, and atmosphere. Black-and-white photographs and films from nearly a century ago have been restored and presented in a modern, engaging format that allows visitors to literally immerse themselves in the world of the 1920s and 1930s.
The exhibition was created in collaboration with Warsaw historians, educators, and archival imaging specialists. The soundscape is composed by Jan Młynarski – musician, researcher, and passionate advocate of pre-war Warsaw – who brings the unique spirit of the city to life through music and sound. Visitors walk through the streets of the former capital, observe everyday life, and discover elegant tenement houses, cobbled streets, iconic buildings, and local cultural diversity. Digitally revived materials reveal places that today exist only in archival photographs, as well as residents from different backgrounds who shaped the city.
The new edition of the exhibition further highlights the vibrant entertainment culture of the 1920s and 1930s. The immersive space inspired by the legendary Adria club features archival photographs, animations, and scenography referencing pre-war dance halls. Guests also visit the Splendid cinema, presenting restored film materials and posters from the era in cooperation with the Polish National Film Archive (FINA).
“Retro Warsaw” is not only a spectacular audiovisual experience but also an emotional story about memory, identity, and the history of the city. It is an experience for both Warsaw residents and tourists, families, young audiences, and all lovers of history and urban storytelling.
The exhibition will be available from July 1 to August 29 in a rotating format, alternating with “Leonardo vs. Michelangelo. The Duel of Renaissance Geniuses.”
We invite you on an extraordinary journey to Warsaw of a century ago – a city whose rhythm, sounds, and images once again fill the space of Art Box Experience.