Grażyna Kulczyk could have opened her museum just about anywhere. Why did she choose the Swiss Alps?

At the turn of 2019, the Polish art world was, intellectually, far away from home. In an Alpine pass village, Grażyna Kulczyk launched her private Muzeum Susch. What is this institution? Is it a sign of the success of Polish culture, the representative of which has reached the highest Swiss altitudes? Is it an expression of Poland’s biggest art collector’s disillusionment, who, having turned her back on the general public, headed for the mountains, a place where only true art enthusiasts will venture? Should we view Susch as the whim of a billionaire, or rather the fulfilment of a lifelong dream of a connoisseur, who knows not only art, but also the art world? And why did Kulczyk, out of all places, fancy the Alps?

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Since it was too difficult to sit and wait for answers to these questions, we travelled to the Muzeum Susch in December 2018, before its official opening. The ruse set up by Kulczyk is foolproof – the curious mind inevitably falls into the snare, lured by the promise of rich rewards. In the case of Susch, the extreme parameters of Kulczyk’s exercise provide an extra incentive. The protagonist of this story was, according to Wprost magazine, the third richest Polish woman in 2018 (her daughter took the top spot). She has a well-known last name. She is the biggest art collector and patron in Poland. She founded the museum in a place located remarkably high above sea level (1438m). The village she has chosen for the headquarters is exceptionally small (only 200 residents). The country