“There Were Three Sisters, Who Only Had Two Shirts” – Exhibition by Justyna Mielnikiewicz in Suceava

Justyna Mielnikiewicz’s exhibition “There Were Three Sisters, Who Only Had Two Shirts” has returned to its birthplace – Bukovina, Romania. As part of the Polish Days celebrations at the Bukovina National Museum in Suceava, a photographic exhibition on the everyday lives and festivities of Poles living in Romania was presented. The exhibition is open until 15 September 2025. 

The Art of Memory and Everyday Life – Bukovina Through the Eyes of a Polish Woman

As part of the “Polish Days” celebrations in Suceava, on 21 August 2025, an exhibition of photographs by Justyna Mielnikiewicz, entitled “There Were Three Sisters, Who Only Had Two Shirts”, opened at the Bukovina National Museum. The artist, known for her expressive documentary style, visited Bukovina in 2023 and 2024 to explore and photograph the daily lives of the region’s inhabitants, accompanying them during religious ceremonies, harvest festivals, and school competitions. The outcome is a moving visual essay on identity, community, and memory – narrated with tenderness and thoughtfulness.

It also takes the form of a journey through the Romanian community of Bukovina – a region where diverse cultures coexist, intertwine, and inspire one another. Key elements of the project are portraits and landscapes, presented in the context of Romanian everyday life and local history. A significant dimension of Mielnikiewicz’s work was also her attention to the individual stories of those portrayed – a sensitivity reflected even in the exhibition’s title. “There Were Three Sisters, Who Only Had Two Shirts” refers to the story of three sisters from Plesza – Jadzia, Haliusia, and Gieńcia – who became one of the artist’s main sources of inspiration.
 

Stories of Identity in Romanian Bukovina

On 21 August 2025, also as part of the Polish Days festival, a special screening of the film “Kumotry”, directed by Emilia Śniegoska, was held. The screening, held in the cinema hall of the university campus in Suceava, like the exhibition, showcased Polish documentary art rooted in local narratives. The film captures the world of great-grandmothers and grandmothers, peasant women, and their quiet songs – voices worth listening to before their final notes fade.

“Kumotry” tells the story of Hanka and Bronka, neighbours and friends living in a Polish village in Romanian Bukovina. Their lives are shaped by the rhythm of the seasons and the accompanying chores, for which they have less and less strength as they grow older. These women, living on their own, whose husbands have passed away and whose children have moved away to work, face everyday life with humour and perseverance. Their reality is recorded on camera, while a creative collaboration with a Romanian folk band lends the documentary a poetic quality and a touch of magical realism.
 

Poland–Romania Cultural Season 2024–2025 – Events in Suceava

The events in Suceava are part of the Poland–Romania Cultural Season 2024–2025 – a joint initiative of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Romanian Ministry of Culture, the Romanian Institute of Culture in Warsaw, and the Polish Institute in Bucharest. This season, held under the slogan “We Share a Common Language”, aims to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries through concerts, exhibitions, performances, and creative encounters.

Justyna Mielnikiewicz’s exhibition “There Were Three Sisters, Who Only Had Two Shirts” is on view at the National Museum of Bukovina in Suceava until 15 September 2025. This is its third showing – it was previously presented at the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant in Bucharest and the Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw. Now the photographs return to the place where they were taken. A visit to the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to discover the story of the Polish presence in Bukovina, captured in images that speak louder than words.
 

“There Were Three Sisters, Who Only Had Two Shirts” – Exhibition in Suceava 

• Author and Curator: Justyna Mielnikiewicz
• Exhibition on View: 21 August – 15 September 2025
• Venue: National Museum of Bukovina (Muzeul Național al Bucovinei), Suceava, Romania
• Admission: Free
• Organisers and Partners: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Institute in Bucharest, National Museum of Bukovina, Union of Poles of Romania