Warsaw’s iconic palm tree is set to regain its luster after funding was secured for an extensive overhaul that will coincide with next month’s opening of the capital’s new Museum of Modern Art.
Formally known as ‘Greetings from Jerozolimskie Avenue’, the artificial tree was designed by artist Joanna Rajkowska and made its debut in December 2002. Located at the center of the Rondo Charles de Gaulle’a roundabout ever since, the installation has become an unmistakable symbol of the city.
However, recent times have seen the palm’s ageing appearance scrutinized; moreover, with the roundabout set to be erased as part of ambitious plans to narrow and beautify Jerozolimskie Avenue, rumors had swirled that the palm would be moved to a new location.
Now, following a session of Warsaw’s city council, its future has been safeguarded after 250,000 zloty (€58,400) were allocated to the Museum of Modern Art (MSN) to enable them to acquire the rights to the tree from its author.
A further 400,000 zloty (€93,400) granted to MSN by the Polish Sculpture Center in Orońsko, south-eastern Poland, will be used to finance the palm’s restoration.
“The modernization will be thorough,” says MSN's Józefina Bartyzel. “The leaves will be replaced, and the bark will be new and real – the Polish Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, helped us obtain it and bring it over to Poland.”
Additionally, the tree’s metal core will be specially coated to protect it against corrosion.
As for its location, plans to move the palm across the street to Smolna (and possibly further) have now been shelved and it will instead be shifted approximately eight meters to account for the area’s future layout.
Originally intended as a temporary installation, the palm was created by Joanna Rajkowska following a trip to Israel undertaken alongside actor Artur Żmijewski.
“When we returned to Warsaw, we wanted to speak about the second Intifada and the conflict we had witnessed,” says Rajkowska. “Simultaneously, it seemed that without a proper Jewish community Warsaw was painfully empty.”
The erection of a palm tree, such a common sight in Israel, was Rajkowska’s creative response to all that she had seen.
Despite this serious underlying narrative, the idea was born largely from playful brainstorming.
However, recent times have seen the palm’s ageing appearance scrutinized; moreover, with the roundabout set to be erased as part of ambitious plans to narrow and beautify Jerozolimskie Avenue, rumors had swirled that the palm would be moved to a new location.
Now, following a session of Warsaw’s city council, its future has been safeguarded after 250,000 zloty (€58,400) were allocated to the Museum of Modern Art (MSN) to enable them to acquire the rights to the tree from its author.
A further 400,000 zloty (€93,400) granted to MSN by the Polish Sculpture Center in Orońsko, south-eastern Poland, will be used to finance the palm’s restoration.
“The modernization will be thorough,” says MSN's Józefina Bartyzel. “The leaves will be replaced, and the bark will be new and real – the Polish Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, helped us obtain it and bring it over to Poland.”
Additionally, the tree’s metal core will be specially coated to protect it against corrosion.
As for its location, plans to move the palm across the street to Smolna (and possibly further) have now been shelved and it will instead be shifted approximately eight meters to account for the area’s future layout.
The Background
Originally intended as a temporary installation, the palm was created by Joanna Rajkowska following a trip to Israel undertaken alongside actor Artur Żmijewski.
“When we returned to Warsaw, we wanted to speak about the second Intifada and the conflict we had witnessed,” says Rajkowska. “Simultaneously, it seemed that without a proper Jewish community Warsaw was painfully empty.”
The erection of a palm tree, such a common sight in Israel, was Rajkowska’s creative response to all that she had seen.
Despite this serious underlying narrative, the idea was born largely from playful brainstorming.
In one anecdote regaled on the artist’s website, Żmijewski recalls that the project was “created as a joke from a non-serious question: what would happen if a row of palm trees appeared on Aleje Jerozolimskie like on the streets of Jerusalem?”
In the end, only one tree was constructed – for some, this was one too many. Premiering on December 12, 2002, the mere sight of the tree enraged swathes of the public. Unfamiliar with the very concept of public art, many fumed about something so kitsch and absurd being placed in the center of Warsaw. Others rejected its message of diversity.
Plagued by a string of problems in the lead-up to the big reveal, Rajkowska admits that the palm got off to a rocky start. After reaching the end of her tether with a Mexican firm that had been hired to produce the leaves, she found another company.
In the end, only one tree was constructed – for some, this was one too many. Premiering on December 12, 2002, the mere sight of the tree enraged swathes of the public. Unfamiliar with the very concept of public art, many fumed about something so kitsch and absurd being placed in the center of Warsaw. Others rejected its message of diversity.
Plagued by a string of problems in the lead-up to the big reveal, Rajkowska admits that the palm got off to a rocky start. After reaching the end of her tether with a Mexican firm that had been hired to produce the leaves, she found another company.
“I found a manufacturer in Southern France who made beautiful natural leaves,” she says. “They were real palm leaves, preserved in glycerin. They looked like a living plant, but they were also very delicate. And too short. By a meter! That's why the palm was initially nicknamed ‘the parsley’. It looked terrible.”
Others were blunter and compared it to a dirty toilet brush.
Eventually, the leaves ordered from Mexico did reach Warsaw. “They were... disgusting,” says Rajkowska. “They were constructed with reinforced wire and when the wind blew, the deformed shape stayed forever. And when they fell, they fell on a policeman. The jokes were over. The palm tree was a threat to human life. During the first year, we replaced the leaves three times. [It felt like] we were stuck on the scaffolding all the time.”
In this comedy of errors, Rajkowska was confounded to learn that the architect behind the palm had forgotten to include VAT on the invoice. Inadvertently, however, this saved the palm’s life: “We couldn't afford to dismantle it,” says Rajkowska. “There was no turning back!”
Others were blunter and compared it to a dirty toilet brush.
Eventually, the leaves ordered from Mexico did reach Warsaw. “They were... disgusting,” says Rajkowska. “They were constructed with reinforced wire and when the wind blew, the deformed shape stayed forever. And when they fell, they fell on a policeman. The jokes were over. The palm tree was a threat to human life. During the first year, we replaced the leaves three times. [It felt like] we were stuck on the scaffolding all the time.”
In this comedy of errors, Rajkowska was confounded to learn that the architect behind the palm had forgotten to include VAT on the invoice. Inadvertently, however, this saved the palm’s life: “We couldn't afford to dismantle it,” says Rajkowska. “There was no turning back!”
The Present
Such teething problems did not vanish overnight, and it would take several years and much lobbying (from the likes of the Palm Defense Committee) before the tree’s future was ultimately secured.
Today an integral feature of Warsaw, the palm has gradually become a much-loved element of the capital’s urban fabric: surreal, humorous and a dynamic reflection of the city’s creative spirit.
But more than just lightening the city’s mood, it has continued to prove its relevance to the city’s daily life: environmental actions, weddings, samba dances, and a pro-Palestine action (organized by Rajkowska herself) have all embedded it into Warsaw’s conscience. News of its renovation means that this will long be the case.
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