This is a historic moment for the Polish Aviation Museum. During the gala ceremony for the 46th Sybilla 2025 Museum Event of the Year Competition, held on 25 May at Artus Court in Gdańsk, our new permanent exhibition ‘Downwind and Upwind – Civil Aviation’ won the top prize in the ‘New and Modernised Permanent Exhibitions’ category.
This is the first Sybilla award in the history of the Polish Aviation Museum — which makes us all the more delighted and proud that the achievements and many years of work by the entire museum team have been recognised and appreciated by the distinguished jury of Poland’s most prestigious museum competition
The gala at Artus Court took place in a unique setting that paid homage to Gdańsk’s musical and ceremonial traditions. The programme included, amongst other things, a concert by Krzysztof Hadrych, who performed his own compositions on an amber guitar from the Amber Museum’s collection. The event was also accompanied by historical fanfares ringing out from the balcony of Artus Court and a symbolic cannon shot from a felucca.
The Sybilla Competition, organised by the National Institute of Museums under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, has been honouring the most outstanding projects carried out by Polish museums for over four decades. Awards are presented in six categories, including exhibitions, investments, and research, educational and conservation projects.
Entries were assessed by a competition jury comprising distinguished representatives of the museum, academic and conservation communities, chaired by Dr Piotr Majewski, Director of the National Institute of Museums. The jury also included museum professionals, art historians, heritage conservation experts and representatives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
In this year’s edition, the Regional Museum in Suwałki was also nominated in the ‘New and modernised permanent exhibitions’ category for its project ‘Maria. A Song of Home’, for which it received an honourable mention.
The award and certificate were picked up on behalf of the Polish Aviation Museum by:
The Grand Prix of the 46th Sybilla 2025 Competition was awarded to the Malbork Castle Museum for its comprehensive modernisation project and innovative interpretation of the castle’s historic spaces. The People’s Choice Award, meanwhile, went to Wawel.
We would like to thank all supporters of the Polish Aviation Museum all the more for their tremendous support and thousands of votes cast. Your commitment has shown just how strong a community the history of Polish Wings brings together.
This year’s edition of the competition saw an exceptionally strong showing from technical and maritime museums. In addition to the Polish Aviation Museum, the Sybilla Awards were also won by the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk and the Naval Museum in Gdynia.
This is an important sign that the legacy of Polish technical thought, engineering and transport is increasingly being recognised as a fully-fledged part of the nation’s cultural heritage — one that requires protection, promotion and a modern museum narrative.
The Sybilla award is, above all, a tribute to the entire team at the Polish Aviation Museum, which, under the leadership of Director Tomasz Kosecki, has spent many years working to create a modern and comprehensive account of the history of Polish civil aviation.
The creation of the exhibition “Downwind and Upwind – Civil Aviation” was made possible thanks to the support of the Małopolska Province and the commitment of the museum’s staff, conservators, donors, educators, partners and supporters. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who also supported us in the Public Vote. Although this year’s audience award went to another institution, we greatly appreciate every vote cast, every share, and all the words of support directed towards our Museum.
We would also like to congratulate all this year’s winners and express our appreciation to all the institutions that were among the finalists of the Sybilla 2025 awards. Each nomination is a testament to the high standard of Polish museology.
Please take a look at the photo gallery from the gala:
