However, we will celebrate this anniversary edition in our specific way – a little bit willful, as usually. We play with the ordinal and move the ‘dot’: instead of 25. festival we celebrate .25 festival!
.25 – a quarter, JEWISH QUARTER!
Yes, the main theme for this year edition will be a Jewish quarter – a place that gave birth to our festival, a place that was awaken by the festival and still helps shaping it.
The heart of the festival will beat in the FKŻ Quarter – a little ‘quarter within the quarter’, a quarter that we will built next to the oldest synagogue in Poland in Kraków’s Kazimierz. It will be a public space that will combine variety of social functions: a playground, reading room, café; in the same time it will be a space for festival workshops, discussions, meetings with literature and dance.
During the festival, our lecturers from all around the world will show you how different Jewish quarters have been. We will take you on the journey to Jerusalem, Venice, Budapest, Lviv, Kazimierz and Lower East Side. The musical journey will take you also to the Jewish quarters in Magreb.
The main festival exhibition will show you the forgotten Kazimierz. But not the one from pre-war times. You all have seen it before. We will show the forgotten Kazmirz (as it is called by its inhabitants) of communist times as seen by two artists: Suzanne Guzei – Taschner and Eugeniusz Wilczyk. The exhibition will be held in the abandoned apartment in the house owned by the Bosak family, who now lives in Israel.
Anniversary character of this edition will be best visible during the concerts. It will present the sounds that shape contemporary Jewish music and those that were the milestones of the past 24 editions of the festival. The memories of the festival will be brought back to you during the concerts of The Klezmatics, La Mar Enfortuna, Shlomo Bara & Habrera Hativeet, Leopold Kozłowski, Hazzan Benzion Miller and David Krakauer.
Contemporary face of Jewish music will be presented by Kutiman Orchestra, Shai Tsabari Future Orchestra & Ahuva Ozeri, Alte Zachen, as well as by Israeli artists playing on the off-stages of the festival in Cheder Café or in FKŻ Quarter: Garden City Movement, Ori Alboher, Lola Marsh and Bemet. During the festival also Polish DJs playing for OFF Radio Kraków and famous Polish DJ collective MLDVa will show how young Poles keep the Jewish tradition alive. Tel Aviv’s cult bar Teder will rock The Boat again – just as they did last year!
The series of festival concerts in the Tempel Synagogue will be opened by the famous Cantors’ Concert that will also bring together young as well as renown artists of hazzanut.
Saturday’s Shalom on Szeroka Street concert will take you on the journey through time and places: we will play the music from 24 editions of the festival and from various places in the world – another unforgettable night in the heart of Jewish Kraków!
As usually, the festival will also give you a chance to explore Kazimierz. Next to traditional tours, this year we offer you also new ways of exploring Jewish quarter – following the routes of industrial Kazimierz and in the footsteps of Jewish architects. Singing workshops will be enriched with mizrahi singing workshops and during culinary workshops in former Jewish bakery in Kazimierz you will learn you how to bake Jewish and Polish challah and bread.
Have a look at the detailed program of the Jewish Culture Festival, including program of accompanying events.
Join us in shaping a new Jewish face of Kazimierz – a quarter of Kraków, that is no longer a historical Jewish quarter of our city. It is again a Jewish quarter of Kraków!
And from here we head into the future. Join us in Kraków between 25th of June and 5th of July 2015.
More information can be found on: Jewish Culture Festival
Source: Jewish Culture Festival
Photo © Shalom on Szeroka Street concert/ Jewish Culture Festival
