Lecture: Cities as spaces where history and modernity coexist. Contemporary art and local heritage

January 16, 2026, 11.00

We invite you to the first lecture of this year's series Mature for Art, which will be devoted to art in urban space and its relationship with the historical fabric of cities. We will take a look at Prague, Berlin, and, of course, Krakow.

The spaces of European cities are arenas of intense tension: between heritage protection and the need for change, between memory and history and contemporary challenges and constant development. The lecture will focus on how contemporary art enters into dialogue with the historical fabric of the city—sometimes subtly complementing it, sometimes provoking and questioning established narratives.

Using examples of artistic activities in cities such as Prague, Warsaw, Berlin and Krakow, Dr. Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk will discuss artistic interventions in public space: both ephemeral activities and site-specific projects permanently integrated into the urban fabric.

The Mature for Art meetings, led by art historian and long-time collaborator of the ICC, Dr Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk, are aimed at adult audiences, with a particular focus on mature audiences. The lectures analyze issues related to art history and culture in relation to topics that were also presented at exhibitions at the ICC. This is an excellent opportunity for discussion and a deeper understanding of the works and their context.

Practical information:

• The event will be held in a hybrid format: in person at the International Cultural Center and online via Zoom.
• The event will be held in Polish. 
• Participation in the lectures is free of charge.
• Lecture duration – approx. 60 min.
• To receive a link to participate in the online meeting, please send your application to the following email address: warsztaty@mck.krakow.pl.
• For detailed information, please write to warsztaty@mck.krakow.pl or call 12 42 42 860.

Host: 

Dr. Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk – art historian, curator. Studied art history at Jagiellonian University, Universität Wien and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Graduate of the interdisciplinary study program Environment-Technology-Society (UJ). Author of scholarly articles on 20th century art and architecture and publications in exhibition catalogs and journals. Co-editor of an anthology of image/body texts and the publication “Komponowanie przestrzeni. Rzeźby awangardy”. Co-author and curator of the artistic and scientific program “Exercising Modernity” (Pilecki-Institut Berlin). As part of her doctoral thesis being prepared at the Institute of Art History at the Jagiellonian University, she is conducting research on the concept of space in the work of Katarzyna Kobro.

The offer is under the auspices of the monthly magazine “Voice of the Senior”.

We would like to inform you that during classes, workshops, meetings, gallery lessons, lectures, photos may be taken for the needs of the International Cultural Centre in Cracow (including, among others, for documentation and information on the ICC website and on the ICC profiles on Facebook and Instagram). If you do not agree to this, please inform us in advance. Photos may include images of people participating in the classes and images of works made during the classes. Failure to provide written information to the Exhibition Center before the start of the classes is tantamount to consenting to the International Cultural Center in Krakow's use of the photos mentioned above.