The central theme of the WRO Biennale in 2025 is Qualia.

Qualia (singular: quale) – perceptible or phenomenal qualities bound up with sensory experiences, e.g. hearing sounds, feeling pain, perceiving colours.
The definition of qualia has changed over time. Contemporary philosophical interpretations of this concept differ widely, from those that grant it basic cognitive value to completely questioning its scientific usefulness or existence as a phenomenon.

We, on the other hand, look at qualia from the perspective of art. This is because art, as a special field of expression and perception, preserves for them, just as for the few phenomena in the world subject to collective experiences and negotiated from different positions, the status of a sort of freedom. It allows us to confront ourselves, our own feelings, personal reception and reaction, before we correct this first, unique, one-of-a-kind reception in accordance with our knowledge, experience, and conventions.

That is why during the 21st WRO Biennale, we deliberately refrain from creating themed exhibitions, nor do we produce closed information systems. Rather, we create spaces of experience open to interpretation together with the artists invited. From 14 May  to 15 June, in various contexts and locations in Wrocław, we will reach out to various sensory data. We will observe and experience:  listen, taste, touch, look, smell; share our experiences – in contact with media art that goes beyond genre boundaries.