Rare exhibition of homosexual art opens in Warsaw

A Museum employee arranges final details to the "Ars Homo Erotica" exhibition

WARSAW — Poland's national museum on Thursday launched an exhibition of homosexual art ranging from ancient Greece to contemporary works, hailing it as a first for the strongly Catholic country.
"Warsaw is the first city in this part of Europe to organise this kind of exhibition," museum director Piotr Piotrowski said at the opening of the show, titled "Ars Homo Erotica".
"It is a unique event to show a subject of this kind in an ultra-Catholic and conservative country like Poland," added Jack Lohman, president of the museum's governing council.
More than 200 works of art are featured, including classical Greek vases and sculptures, male nudes from the 19th and 20th centuries and contemporary art from former Communist countries in Eastern Europe.
A small sign at the entrance warns visitors: "The exhibition could be considered indecent for children and they are only allowed to visit if accompanied by their parents or guardians."
"We are aware that the exhibition will cause controversy but we think that we can advance democracy" in our country, Piotrowski said.