Historical Warsaw murals are back!

A symbol of the place and a landmark

For many Warsaw residents, the “Foton” and “Jubiler” murals were more than just advertisements - they were distinctive landmarks in the cityscape.

As Konrad Janowski, a resident of the tenement house at 15 Targowa Street, recalls: “I’d just keep an eye out for when I saw the murals in the windows - that was the sign that I was in East Warsaw and needed to get off.”

The murals served as an urban compass. You didn’t need building numbers or maps - the image was enough. “It was a kind of landmark. People would meet ‘by the mural’ - all you had to do was turn the corner, and you knew where to go.” In this way, something that began as an advertisement became part of the city’s everyday language.

Murals as part of the urban fabric

Experts emphasize that old advertising murals are an integral part of Warsaw’s history.

As Anna Brzezińska-Czerska, a researcher of murals from the communist era, notes: “Old advertising murals have become a permanent fixture in Warsaw’s urban landscape. They form part of its urban fabric. Their restoration is largely driven by sentimental value - and that’s a good thing, because it speaks to their significance.”

It is precisely this dimension - of memory and attachment - that ensured their disappearance did not go unnoticed.

Krzysztof Michalski, a council member for the Praga-Północ district, shares a similar perspective: “These murals are silent witnesses to the urban transformations of this part of the city. Their removal caused a great deal of outrage. We have lost something important to our local identity.”

Responsible restoration

The project, carried out by Good Looking Studio, aims to restore the “Foton” mural with the utmost attention to detail and fidelity to the original.

As Bartłomiej Leśniewski, co-founder of Good Looking Studio, emphasizes: “We felt a strong sense of outrage that these murals had been destroyed - especially since so few of them remain. We decided to take responsibility for this and restore them in accordance with best practices.”

The restoration process was preceded by detailed research into the condition of the original paint layer.

Ola Stachowicz, a painter involved in the project, explains: “We started with a site visit and test excavations, which allowed us to identify fragments of the original composition and color. Our approach is very conservative - we select techniques and materials so as to interfere as little as possible with what has been preserved.”

A new chapter alongside the old

However, the project does not end with the restoration of “Foton.” The building’s second wall is set to become a space for contemporary mural projects works that are fluid, temporary, and responsive to what is happening here and now.

As Bartłomiej Leśniewski emphasizes: “Foton, as a symbol of a bygone era, will coexist alongside the new chapter we want to write here - a space for contemporary art and new forms of visual communication.”

This is not a return to the past in its purest form.

Rather, it is an attempt to merge two realms - what was, and what is yet to come.

Between history and the present

The goal of the project is to create a space that bridges the past and the present - preserving historical heritage while opening the space up to new artistic endeavors.

Progress on the project at 15 Targowa Street will be shared regularly on Good Looking Studio’s social media.

One thing is certain - the iconic walls of Warsaw’s Praga district are being given a new lease on life.

Full version of the film - https://youtu.be/u-wGq-8Q6uw