Invasive Alien Species. Competition Exhibition

The Museum of the Chełm Land is showing a selection of entries from an art competition in which participants drew plants and animals that are alien to Polish nature yet increasingly common in it. The exhibition runs in the building at 57 Lubelska Street from 30 September to 30 October 2026. The museum’s own words below are our translation of its Polish-language page; there is no English version of it.

Museum of the Chełm Land on the exhibition:

In the Museum’s rooms at 57 Lubelska Street you can see an exhibition of selected works submitted to a competition devoted to invasive alien species (IAS).

In their works the young artists portrayed species which - although often found around us - do not belong to native nature, and whose spread may pose a threat to local ecosystems. The exhibition is therefore not only a presentation of the competitors’ work, but also an occasion to draw attention to an important problem of nature conservation.

The exhibition is open from 30 September to 30 October in the Museum’s rooms at 57 Lubelska Street.

What to expect

This is a competition show, not a natural history display: you are looking at drawings and paintings, not specimens in cases. The rules required every entry to show at least one invasive alien species in a realistic or surreal setting. The competition had two age groups, 12 to 18 and over 18. Pupils of Chełm schools dominate the list of winners, and one prize went to the adult category.

According to the museum, more than 100 entries came in and a selection of them went on show; the museum does not say how many works are displayed. The competition was part of a project titled “Invasive alien species - impact on ecosystems, legal aspects, remedial action”, co-funded by the Voivodeship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Lublin. Under the same project the museum ran a training course in June for municipal staff, educators and biology teachers. Free workshops for pupils followed at the turn of September and October, and every place went at once.

Allow 15-20 minutes for the exhibition itself. It makes most sense together with the rest of the building, which the museum labels “History and Nature”. The Nature Department keeps native rarities of the Lublin region here, among them the speckled ground squirrel and the European pond turtle - a good counterpoint to the drawings of incoming species.

Worth it for families with school-age children and for biology teachers. A visitor from outside Chełm should not make the trip for this show alone - it is an extra on a visit to 57 Lubelska Street.

Context

Invasive alien species are plants and animals moved by people beyond their natural range that spread in their new home at the expense of native species, or harm the economy and human health. The European Union deals with the problem through Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014. Under it, the European Commission has kept a list of species of Union concern since 2016, which now covers more than a hundred plants and animals.

The Union list includes species well known in Poland: Sosnowsky’s hogweed, Himalayan balsam, the raccoon and the signal crayfish. In Polish law, the rules for countering these species are set by the Act of 11 August 2021 on alien species. The General Directorate for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) publishes information about the act and about the listed species.

Tickets and time

The exhibition page names no separate price. The museum’s price list in force since 1 May 2026 applies to permanent and temporary exhibitions: a single-building ticket costs 20 PLN full price, 15 PLN reduced. A pass to all four buildings costs 40 PLN and 30 PLN. Holders of the municipal “Karta Chełmianina” and “Chełmska Karta 3+” cards pay 15 PLN and 10 PLN per building; children under 7 enter free.

That the ordinary ticket to the building at 57 Lubelska Street covers this exhibition is our reading of the price list. The same price list states that temporary-exhibition fees may be set individually for each project, and the museum gives no separate price for this one - ask at the ticket desk. Admission to the museum is free on Thursdays - if this exhibition is your only reason to come, come on a Thursday.

Hours are Tuesday to Friday 10:00-16:00 (10 AM to 4 PM), Saturday and Sunday 12:00-16:00, closed Monday, last entry 15:30. The museum keeps current prices and hours on its visitor information page (in Polish, with hours and prices also in English). From Galeria 72 at 55 Lubelska Street it is about a minute’s walk.

The museum has no English version of the exhibition page and does not say what language the labels are in. The artworks themselves, however, need no Polish.

See also

• Museum of the Chełm Land profile - four buildings, hours, prices and the permanent displays, including the natural history one at 57 Lubelska Street.
• On the Way to the Academy - an archive exhibition in the neighbouring building at 55 Lubelska Street, open until 30 October 2026.
• The Chotyniec Hillfort. The Western Gate of Scythia - an archaeology exhibition in the building at 55 Lubelska Street; with the pass you can see both on the same day.

Museum profile: Wiktor Ambroziewicz Museum of the Chełm Land .