Who are exhibitions made for? Whose stories do they tell and who is not represented in them and feels out of place in an art gallery? What role should the institution play today and what needs should it respond to?

These questions became the starting point for the concept of the exhibition Tears of Happiness – the largest presentation of Zachęta's collection to date. Several dozen works from recent decades, including works of key importance for the history of Polish art, as well as those associated with landmark events in the gallery's history, form a story about the emotions these works evoked in the past and continue to evoke today. Some of them caused scandals because they touched on taboo subjects such as illness, old age or disability. What kind of reception do they face today?

The selected works and their contemporary interpretations, as well as the current comments from both artists and the public, reflect the changes in social sensibility that have taken place over the years. They also show the important role of contemporary art and cultural institutions in the process of reclaiming the voice of social groups systemically deprived of it.

The exhibition is conceived as a space in which audience activity and a performative programme play an equally important role as the works on display. Through their activities, the invited artists enter into a dialogue with the selected works and point to the possibility of an alternative gallery visit. The performative programme, like the choreography of the exhibition, takes into account the different ways of functioning in the world and the sensibilities of the audience. It also encourages a bodily experience of the artworks.

Works from the collections of: Azorro, Wojciech Bąkowski, Przemek Branas, Olaf Brzeski, Oskar Dawicki, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Zuzanna Janin, Katarzyna Józefowicz, Katarzyna Kozyra, Zofia Kulik, Zbigniew Libera, Goshka Macuga, Jacek Malinowski, Maria Pinińska-Bereś, Joanna Piotrowska, Agnieszka Polska, Mariola Przyjemska, Joanna Rajkowska, Erna Rosenstein, Paweł Sakowicz, Jadwiga Sawicka, Chief Judge, Mikołaj Smoczyński, Monika Sosnowska, Jonasz Stern, Alina Szapocznikow, Teresa Tyszkiewicz, Piotr Uklański, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Julita Wójcik, Monika Zawadzki, Liliana Zeic, Artur Żmijewski and others programme of performance activities and meetings: Olaf Brzeski, Oskar Dawicki, Edka Jarząb, Filip Kijowski, Daniel Kotowski, Katarzyna Kozyra, Jacek Malinowski, Nadia Markiewicz, Alka Nauman, Ania Nowicka, Joanna Pawlik, Jana Shostak, Elwira Sztetler, Teatr 21, Anna Zaradny, Liliana Zeic, Marta Ziółek, Katarzyna Żeglicka, Paweł Żukowski and others
Choreography of the exhibition and design of objects: Alka Nauman, Aniela Fidler-Wieruszewska
Contributing to the public and educational programme: Pamela Bożek and Taras Gembik\