The book 'Galeria Wschodnia. Documents 1984-2017 / Documents 1984-2017', edited by Daniel Muzyczuk and Tomasz Załuski, is a monumental study of the history of one of the longest-established authorial art spaces in Poland. The Wschodnia Gallery is an important example of artists' self-organisation and a centre whose history is symptomatic of transformations in the independent gallery movement. This nodal place on the map of Polish art also reveals how many shades the concept of independence can have.

Galeria Wschodnia was founded in 1984 on the initiative of, among others, Jerzy Grzegorski and Adam Klimczak, who took over the flat at 29 Wschodnia Street from the troupe Arlekin i Pantalon, run by Jarosław Orłowski, Piotr Bikont and Wojciech Czajkowski. The place, where various forms of creativity originally intersected and theatre rehearsals, free jazz sessions and political activity were the order of the day, became an important spot for independent art from the mid-1980s onwards. The gallery and its creators were also involved in important artistic initiatives taking place in Lodz, such as the subsequent Constructions in Process and the Artists' Museum. The leading artistic forms within its programme were installations and performances, clearly indicating a strategy of expanding the autonomy of the artist. Author's galleries were, after all, founded precisely in order to give all the power over the conditions for the presentation of art to its creators.

The main part of the book is a detailed study by Tomasz Załuski focused on the activities of the gallery in the broad context of the situation of other, related centres and organisations. It also contains a set of archival texts related to the East, written by Jerzy Busza, Jolanta Ciesielska, Maciej Cholewiński, Adam Klimczak, Maria Morzuch and Józef Robakowski. The content is complemented by materials related to the gallery's anniversary exhibition held at the Museum of Art in 2014, including texts by Daniel Muzyczuk and Mikołaj Iwański, as well as a calendar and an extensive photographic archive that gives an idea of the diversity of artistic forms hosted at Eastern over the years.

The publisher of the book is the Wschodnia Gallery / In Search Of... Foundation, and the co-publisher is the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź. The publication was co-financed by the City of Lodz Office as part of the Publishing Programme.