Winter’22

All the Colours of Winter

From Advent to Carnival, from Divine Comedy in December to Opera Rara and Materia Prima festivals in February – spectacles of traditional and avantgarde theatre, opera and theatre of form set out the framework of the winter cultural season in Kraków. The stories they tell are an accurate and important commentary on the world around us.

16 stories about Kraków

And let’s not forget our city’s unique tradition of nativity scenes, originating from a custom of performing nativity plays, so a form of theatre in themselves. The heritage is maintained by local families, handing the skill down the generations, and celebrated with an annual competition and exhibition at the Museum of Krakow. The tradition has been added to UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage – let’s keep that in mind as we follow this year’s trail All Around Nativity Scenes.

And while you’re out and about, make sure you visit Kraków’s many fairs, starting with the Christmas Market at the Main Market Square. The colourful stalls feature brand-new décor, and the traders are increasingly selling hand-made wares and traditional Christmas decorations and toys.

But there’s still time before Christmas to attend screenings and meetings of the Silent Film Festival and the Krakow Mountain Festival. Protagonists of black-and-white films with live music accompaniment and lovers of mountain adventures telling their (often hair-rising) stories are all pioneers boldly exploring new territories.

…exploration of a fundamental, rarely written about period of Polish photography…

The exhibition showcasing Polish art photography at Museum of Photography in Kraków celebrates artists working almost a century ago (1927–1978). Adam Mazur, co-curator of the exhibition, writes in his essay for the “Kraków Culture” quarterly: “The exhibition is a curated exploration of a fundamental, rarely written about period of Polish photography when modernist ideas of photography as an art and photographers as artists were being shaped.”

 

We are frequently captivated by simple everyday objects, and not just because of their appearance. Washing machines, cars, trams, typewriters – their history is put in the context of developing civilisation at the permanent exhibition at the Museum of Engineering and Technology following major renovation works of the building complex at Św. Wawrzyńca Street. The new route through the exhibition is a triumph of technology in and of itself, exploring the recently excavated space beneath the museum buildings.

…winter can dazzle with many colours…

The exhibition of works by Małgorzata Mirga-Tas at the International Cultural Centre shows that even winter can dazzle with many colours. The extraordinary artist, acclaimed for her prestigious exhibitions in Venice and Kassel, finds inspiration in her native Romani culture and tells her own story about contemporary art, about the family home, about women…

…winter can dazzle with many colours…

2023 has been officially hailed as Year of Jerzy Nowosielski. The artist eluded classification, intertwining the sacrum and profanum spheres in his own way and creating fascinating, dazzling artworks. January marks the centenary of his birth, and the first – and certainly not last! – opportunity to celebrate it will be the exhibition at the Starmach Gallery.

Kraków`Culture Team

winter’22

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16 stories about Kraków

Discover Kraków Culture

From Advent to Carnival, from Divine Comedy in December to Opera Rara and Materia Prima festivals in February – spectacles of traditional and avantgarde theatre, opera and theatre of form set out the framework of the winter cultural season in Kraków.