Until not so long ago, they were rare and often illicit. Today they are natural, popular elements of the city landscape, adorning walls and buildings to enhance the atmosphere of a given location or district. We are talking about murals, of course! Let’s take a closer look at selected artworks in three districts – Kazimierz, Podgórze and Nowa Huta – to discover how they fit in with local history and atmosphere.
Jewish Kazimierz
The Kazimierz district is famous for its twisting, narrow streets, artistic initiatives, atmospheric pubs and myriad art galleries. It is the heart of the city’s nightlife, attracting locals and tourists alike. Street art in Kazimierz recalls the district’s history as an autonomic enclave for Kraków’s Jewish population.
14 Św. Wawrzyńca Street: a majestic lion with a child’s face, gazing forlornly, intertwines the Jewish identity of the district with the present day. The design, created by Israeli artist Pilpedel, recalls the Lion of Judah – a Jewish national and cultural symbol depicted on the emblem of Jerusalem. “The child symbolises a small, terrified nation. When it’s combined with the lion – a symbol of power – it evokes the eternal struggle of the Jews. The mural also reveals our own inner child and makes us realise we must all fight our fears. Judah symbolises strength and righteousness. Judah gave his name to all Jews,” explains the author of the mural, commissioned for the Jewish Culture Festival in 2013.
The next design, painted in black and white and created by the Israeli collective Broken Fingaz – depicting human faces and Yiddish inscriptions – adorns the wall of the three-storey tenement house at 3 Bawół Square. The location is no accident – the building was erected in the 17th century by the Jewish Bosak family, whose generations lived there for over 300 years! The inspiration came from the work by the Art Nouveau artist Ephraim Lilien, graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. The floral ornamentation, linearism and free composition style take us straight back to the fin de siècle. The mural was painted in 2014 on the initiative of the Jewish Culture Festival.
The faces of world-famous businesswoman Helena Rubinstein, King Casimir III the Great and his beautiful mistress Esterka Malach, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Cracovian architect Karol Knaus adorn the wall at 7 Józefa Street. The aim of the project “Historic Murals in Kazimierz”, launched in 2015, was to fill neglected spaces with motifs recalling the district’s history. The educational mural is one of the most popular and most frequently photographed spots in Kazimierz.
Literary Podgórze
Podgórze is a post-industrial district which is increasingly becoming an active part in Kraków’s cultural life. Its historic architecture is gradually being revitalised, and many artists are joining in to make it more beautiful. Their works depict Podgórze in a slightly unusual light: as a district of literature.
The mural at Traugutta Street is the result of workshops in urban typography, held as part of the Free Reading Zone campaign in 2011. The literary graffiti – overseen by Aleksandra Toborowicz and Artur Wabik – stretches over a huge side wall of a building. The black-and-white design, featuring flashes of three contrasting colours, also includes letters which combine to create book spines turning the wall into a virtual library shelf holding myriad volumes of world literature.
The next literary mural in Podgórze is Filip Kuźniarz’s Think: Literatue!/Lem, created together with the ZNACZY SIĘ New Art Foundation and the Kraków Festival Office. It was created in 2012 for the fourth Conrad Festival. It depicts a huge striding robot, with a quote from Stanisław Lem’s visionary Dialogues written above. Appearing in Podgórze space, the words take on a new, portentous (!) meaning in this era of artificial intelligence, and at the same time they recall the district’s industrial roots.
We stray off from the mural trail – but keep following the literary path – to find ourselves at the steps by Tatrzańska Street. The Colourful Steps were created as part of the Grolsch ArtBoom Festival and its competition Fresh Zone in 2013. The 55 steps are painted different colours and inscribed with excerpts from Polish and world literature. The Colourful Steps are a popular tourist attraction in Podgórze and serve as testament that even seemingly ephemeral street art can quickly earn acceptance from the local community and become an integral part of the city space.
Early Nowa Huta
Despite being home to extensive tourist and cultural destinations, Nowa Huta has long been plagued with stereotypes. This is reflected by murals in the district, which form a bridge with Kraków’s older districts.
The Cubihuta Composition 1 is Dariusz Milczark’s winning design in the competition for an ecomural prepared by the Office of the City of Kraków in 2017. The industrial, geometric painting on the wall of an apartment block at 11a Złotej Jesieni Estate reveals the disparities in how the district is perceived. Combining lush shades of green, violet and blue, it contrasts the chimneys of Nowa Huta’s famous steelworks with the district’s more recent green aspects.
Paulina Jaklik’s 2015 mural in the Zielony Jar Park turns our attention to Nowa Huta’s rich history. The educational graffiti depicts the urban plans of the former independent city, a group of militiamen, strikes at the steelworks and the pulling down of the Vladimir Lenin statue in the Róż Avenue.
The “Jędruś” Club at the Centrum A Estate is home to a 2016 mural designed by Joel Bergner. It was created as a social campaign open to all: the artist was supported by members of the “Jędruś” club, kids and young people from the Care and Education Institution in Kłaj and Kraków residents. As well as depicting the steelworks chimneys, the graffiti also features other symbols of Kraków: the Basilica of St. Mary, the Lajkonik, a man in folk costume and even Wawel dragon, creating a composition not unlike Cracovian nativity scenes. It is an example of attempts at bringing together the new district with older parts of the city.
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The street art projects presented here correspond to the locations in Kraków where they were created. They recall the city’s history, give the locations new meaning and showcase local issues. Let’s remember that street art is transient – it is easily damaged or destroyed by weather, or is removed by municipal facilities. Let’s admire it while we can! (Wojtek Zając, magazyn „Karnet”)
