The aim of the paper was to examine and analyze the context of activity of street performers, presented by the mass media in Poland. The research question was: How the image of street performer in media looks like? Who creates this image? The intention was to describe the way the  street performers are being shown by: the media representatives, their own customers and also by themselves. Moreover, the paper highlights the aspect of social role of presenting this kind of human activity in media discourse. This text is a result of ethnography conducted among the street performers in the biggest Polish cities from 2012 to 2016. The ethnography was broadened with the analysis of various examples from media discourse: internet, television, radio, press, film and literature. The analysis includes three different meanings of media discourse: (1) as a communication occurrence, (2) as a compilation of values and (3) as an interaction. The results of the article show the media influence on contemporary meaning and shape of street performances. Moreover, the paper reveals a present social knowledge concerning the street shows.

The article concerns the phenomenon of artists coming out on mass media. Their decisions to make the information about one’s homosexuality public, form parts of their image-building strategies. A sociocultural context of those decisions and ways of their realizations are presented in this article. Basing on press interviews in which four selected Polish artists have made identity declarations there has been made an attempt to picture the character and types of coming out statements.

Many monuments that exist in the social space were erected on the initiative of enterprises. Monuments contain a symbolic message referring to various aspects of this type of organization, for example to their creation, to their achievements and successes, to what they do, to people who co-create them, to patrons and many others, sometimes less clear issues. Thus, monuments show enterprises from a chosen, specific point of view - they also create their images. This article presents which images of enterprises are produced by monuments and how this is done. Nine separate categories are listed: 1) images based on difficult experiences of enterprises; 2) images based on remembrances of enterprises; 3) images based on outstanding persons of enterprises; 4) images based on human work; 5) images based on the achievements of enterprises; 6) images based on the company’s trademarks; 7) images based on the social involvement of enterprises; 8) images based on political involvement of enterprises; 9) images based on the metaphysical values of enterprises.

The article is of the theoretical and empirical character. In the first part, the definitions, types, components and the process of shaping the image of cultural institutions are discussed. The second part presents research hypotheses, methodology, results, conclusions and the implications for management. The results of the research presented in the article prove that the online activity of social media users stimulates the image of cultural institutions. Statistically significant relationships were observed for the components of the image related to awareness/associations of cultural institution and for the relationship related to the perception of quality its offer.

The paper presents current trends in the operation of cultural institutions owned by the local government. They often become similar to enterprises and implement market solutions applied by the latter. The conducted analysis has revealed modern changes in the institutions functioning in the sphere of culture, which – besides cultural and artistic activities to which they are obliged by their statutes – are also involved in undertaking educational, trading or promotional measures. Typically, cultural institutions, while operating within the framework of the state’s cultural policy as entities autonomous in terms of their legal status, organisation and finance, are subject to a dynamic transformation, ever more often extending the offer addressed to their target groups and redefining the way of their participation in culture. The activities are closely related to the definition of image identification, requiring coherence and consistency. This translates into problems with image communication, resulting from the dispersed offer, but also typical of the operation of the signs performing the functions of identification, information and utility meaning.

This document presents the results of research on the perception of the museum by younger children (aged 5 to 7 years). The research was carried out in a group of 250 children attending kindergartens in the Silesian Voivodship. The results of the research served to get to know how children perceive the museum as an institution, its tasks and functions. This knowledge should be preceded by all educational activities of museums.

The qualitative strategy with the methodology associated with the interpretive paradigm was chosen for the implementation of the research. Assuming that children are not able to accurately answer questions related to defining concepts and phenomena, research should be based on such methods of expression that would reproduce the image of the analyzed phenomenon in the most readable manner possible. One of the most frequently used forms of observation of children’s ideas about the world are children’s drawings. Hence drawing as a research technique, in the case of children’s questions about phenomena and definitions, it proved to be the most appropriate research tool, allowing to reproduce these fragments of knowledge, experiences, insights and opinions of children who can’t be verbalized. This did not mean giving up verbal statements. From the research experience it is clear that these two methods of data acquisition, in the case of younger children, should occur together, eliminating any possible understatements resulting from the use of any of the methods separately. Their simultaneous use eliminated possible false ways of reading data. That is why, apart from the drawing (as projection techniques), the method of focused group interviews was used. Interviews were conducted with children in groups (8 groups in total), the number of which ranged from 5 to 8 people.

As a result of the research, a rich research material was obtained, including 250 drawings and over a two-hour collection of verbal statements. Detailed analysis with conclusions is the content of this article.

In publications of recent years, embedded in the discipline of management studies and regarding the issue of image, it is pointed out that one of the most frequent mistakes of modern organizations is the lack of coherence between communicated values and everyday practice. In the article, I propose to look at image crises in polish institutional theatres (those caused by phenomenon mentioned above), in a way that recognizes and appreciates their positive aspects. They can be treated as „tools” that inspire system change. On the examples from recent years, I argue that the vast majority of image crises in art institutions are caused by the lack of coherence between the declarative sphere (mainly shaped by artistic program of institution) and intra-institutional practice. I also show that thought on the discussed subject matter has developed in art thanks to the evolution of the concept of criticism and critical attitude, and not, as one would suppose, in relation to the achievements of management studies. I will also discuss the determinants of contemporary institutional critique, in which the thought on relations between the declarative sphere and practice develops, and which affects the perception of the crisis itself.