Polish Social and Cultural Centre

"POSK" redirects here. For the South Korean head of state, see President of South Korea.
Not to be confused with Polish Cultural Institute in London.

Polish Social and Cultural Association – POSK
AbbreviationPOSK
Formation1967
Typecultural centre
PurposeFurthering the understanding of Polish culture, history and art
Headquarters238–246, King Street, London, W6 0RF
Region served
United Kingdom
Official language
English and Polish

The Polish Social and Cultural Centre (Polish: Polski Ośrodek Społeczno-Kulturalny; POSK) is a Polish cultural centre in west London, England. It was founded in 1967 and funded by public subscription, on the initiative of Polish engineer Roman Wajda, at 238–246 King Street, Hammersmith.

The rationale was that during the Cold War, the Polish community in the United Kingdom was politically opposed to the Polish Communist authorities in its native country and could not otherwise avail itself of a continuous source of Polish history and culture and for potential future generations in exile. It replaced the venues of a number of distinct military, veterans and social associations and meeting places that had been scattered mainly across the Royal Borough of Kensington in the aftermath of World War II.[1]

As Poles who had escaped the occupation of their country began to move westwards in London from the "bedsitter land" to which they were first confined, Wajda and his committee made precise calculations as to where such a facility would best serve the Polish community of the time.[2][3] In its proximity is the Polish parish and "garrison church", St Andrew Bobola, in nearby Shepherd's Bush.[4]

POSK presents and promotes Polish culture and history to the British public. It houses the Polish Library in London, which was founded in 1942, and an art exhibition space.[5] It puts on film screenings, theatrical productions and musical recitals, including opera. It has a jazz club with regular sessions. The 300 capacity theatre is fully equipped with audio loop and subtitle function. The theatre is available for hire by other community groups when not in use. POSK also houses a Polish cafe - Cafe Maya, a restaurant and Members bar.[5] There is an independent Polish bookshop on the premises.

Several Polish organizations are based at the centre, including:

The original membership fee of £10 was raised in 2008 by the new President, Ewa Brzeska, it now stands at £60.[6][5]

On 26 June 2016 the front entrance of the centre was vandalised with graffiti. It was treated as a potential hate crime by the Metropolitan Police. It was seen by some as an expression of anti-Polish sentiment in the wake of the Brexit referendum and cited as an expression of anti-immigration views targeting Poles and other EU nationals. No one has been charged with the offence and debate continued about whether the graffiti could be interpreted as ambiguous or whether there were other factors suggesting the motives behind the graffiti were not necessarily xenophobic.[7][8][9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Pani Stefa i zdjęcia polskiego Kensingtonu". Tydzień Polski (in Polish). 1 July 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  2. ^ Benedict Le Vay (20 April 2024), Eccentric London, Bradt Travel Guides, ISBN 978-1-84162-193-7
  3. ^ Muriel Spark's 1988 novel, A Far Cry from Kensington set in 1954, gives a vivid and realistic description of the life many immigrant Poles shared on arrival in the capital.
  4. ^ "Polish Church 2 – St. Andrew Bobola". taking-stock.org.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Murawski, Michal (2020). "The Palace of Culture". In Hatherley, Owen (ed.). The alternative guide to the London boroughs. London: Open City. pp. 226–233. ISBN 9781916016910.
  6. ^ Wiktor Moszczynski (20 April 2024), Hello, I'm Your Polish Neighbour, AuthorHouse, ISBN 978-1-4490-9779-0
  7. ^ Micklewaithte, Jamie (26 June 2016). "Police probe racist graffiti smeared on Polish centre after Brexit vote". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  8. ^ BBC News (26 June 2016). "'Racist' graffiti on Polish cultural centre in Hammersmith". BBC News. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  9. ^ Cooper, Goolistan (7 July 2016). "Polish centre graffiti 'not a xenophobic attack' after all?". getwestlondon. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
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51°29′36″N 0°14′15″W / 51.49333°N 0.23750°W / 51.49333; -0.23750

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