Filipka Rutkowska
Gender Is Over (English)
Forthcoming: September, 2026
Gender Is Over is an inside story of Warsaw’s art scene at the turn of the 2010s: a time of both rising nationalism in Poland, and the gradual embrace of queerness by the cultural mainstream. Blending reportage with autofiction, Gender Is Over mixes the language of art history with that of affect and the body. Filipka Rutkowska presents a socio-cultural transformation, taking the reader on an intimate journey through her working class experiences, unfolding in the worlds of art, cinema, and theatre. Gender Is Over is about shedding old identifications, finding gaps in systems of oppression, and claiming freedom.
Filipka Rutkowska (b. 1991, Warsaw) is a gender-liminal performance artist and art historian who transforms bodies and objects into ephemeral personae, challenging identity norms through a queer baroque and absurd lens. Her performances navigate taboos of sexuality and class, incorporating installations that archive queer knowledge derived from personal rituals. Rutkowska's work has been presented at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and the Gothenburg Biennale.
As a curator, she is currently developing Casa Filipka (inspired by New York's 196os safe haven for trans women, Casa Susanna), which has shown in Mexico City and Lisbon. She has also acted in the films of Malgorzata Szumowska, Lukasz Ronduda, and Alex Baczyński-Jenkins. Since 2023, she has written 'Filipka and the Big City' for Vogue Poland, a column offering a queer perspective on contemporary life.