It’s no accident that the poster for the 14th Museum Night in Kraków features The Lady with an Ermine…
In fact, on Museum Night at the Main Building of the National Museum in Krakow starts a presentation of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, acquired recently by the Ministry of Culture alongside the entire collection of Princes Czartoryski. On one hand it’s a preview of the modernisation of the work’s original home at Św. Jana Street, due to be completed in the next few years, while on the other it is an invitation to the exhibition The Treasures, held at the Arsenal and presenting a selection of treasures from the Czartoryski collection, including Rembrandt’s Landscape with the Good Samaritan. The modernist building of the former hotel Cracovia, erected in the 1960s, was incorporated as the museum’s latest branch in late 2016. In the future it will host a gallery of design and architecture; these plans are revealed through the exhibition Cracovia: More Than Just a Hotel. Ceramics, Glass, Clothing held as part of Museum Night.
As well as the usual venues participating in the event, this year Museum Night is joined by new sites and projects, including the MICET Interactive Museum/Theatre Education Centre which opened last year. The Museum of Photography in Kraków presents the first instalment from the series of exhibitions of its collections – dedicated to photographic portraits – while MOCAK welcomes attendees into its exhibition spaces and the recently opened Archive. Thanks to the Historical Museum, we will visit the City Defence Walls and experience life as it might have been in besieged 16th-century Kraków… The programme also features guided tours, lectures, presentations, workshops, concerts, film screenings, urban games, themed walks through the city and many other attractions.
Under the Lady’s watchful eye, we visit brand new places and re-discover others anew! Make sure you familiarise yourselves with the programme, since certain events require booking. And don’t forget to get your token commemorative zloty coin – it’s your entry pass to the exhibitions and the city’s public transport. (Dorota Dziunikowska, „Karnet” monthly)
