2024

Cracow Art Week KRAKERS returns on April 19-26th, 2024 to once again conquer the city’s art galleries, studios, as well as some unusual public and private spaces.

The theme of the 13th edition of KRAKERS is “Feel, feel, keep feeling”. It is a version of the famous Polish scout call, which is a kind of greeting or farewell. It is not an exclamatory phrase as in the original, but an encouragement to immerse in yourself, deepen your feelings and focus on your emotions. More and more attention is paid to both the psychological layer of works of art and the mental condition of the creators themselves. Artists go beyond the issues of art, and creativity becomes psychologized. Contemporary artists care about their well-being and emotional balance, use psychotherapy and are therefore more aware and confident of their goals. For the participants of the festival, concepts and values such as care, concern and mindfulness are also important. For example, the positive effects of art on recipients that are used in art therapy are visible.

The full programme will be published in the week preceding the event, but much is already being revealed. The Main Programme consists of 58 events, and its City Section covers acclaimed art galleries and traditional artist-run spaces. Shefter Gallery invites to “The unbearable melancholy of detail or unsettlement” by Aleksandra Młynarczyk-Gemza – a philosophical treatise about HOME ‘written’ through photography, video and space arrangement. Much will be going on at Skład Solny’s premises – its galleries and workshops will host six exhibitions, an art installation and an audiovisual performance. There are also two projects from the University of National Education Commission, the co-organizer of this year’s edition: “Keep feeling!” at Galeria Podbrzezie, and “Crisis” in the Main Post Office former headquarters.

The Laboratory is KRAKERS’ flagship competition section, which awards 10 projects selected by a jury of experts. Among this year’s winners there’s Juliusz Kosin’s artistic intervention in the studio of Marian Kruczek, “Open Space” – an exhibition from Łódź Film School which will encompass movie projections and authors’ meetings. The awarded initiatives also include a performance by Fanni Malinovska entitled “We have all been inflamed with the desire to live a happy life” at Goethe-Institut, or “I love gas stations at night” – an exhibition where the artists’ emotions and anxieties are expressed via VR aesthetics.

KRAKERS also presents many artists from outside Kraków, or even Poland. Galeria Szaber will host an artistic group from Wrocław – their “The nameless from the nihilists’ church” is an exhibition that shows the power of rituals and the eternal need for metaphysical sensations. Art Agenda Nova invites everyone to Helena Parys’ “Dummy” – a first solo exhibition by an artist currently living and studying in Antwerp. C U AT SADKA collaborates with +DEDE (Berlin) and DOC (Paris) for their “Curara de Carrera”. The Ethnographic Museum collection will feature “Chromophilia” – creative interventions by six artists from Poland, Portugal and the Netherlands. At UFO Art Gallery there will also be a special event accompanying Michael Biber’s solo exhibition.

Other special events will include the A Sztuka? Foundation “Watchful Alphabet” participatory installation at Jordan Park and anyone, regardless of age, can join. KRAKERS will also commemorate the 20th anniversary of Jerzy Duda-Gracz’s death with a dedicated guided tour of his permanent gallery at Nowa Huta Cultural Center and it’s going to be conducted by his daughter Agata Duda-Gracz. There’s a treat for minors as well – Studio R29 offers free graphic workshops “I feel the animal” for children aged 7-12. The Accompanying Programme also includes guided tours of the city’s cultural institutions, a series of walks through Kraków’s art galleries and districts called Kultour, an author’s meeting, animation show or sensory workshops.

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