Krakow Art Salon
Held between 2018 and 2020, the event was a competition for artists working in Krakow. The first two editions closed with exhibitions at the Palace of Art
Krakow Arts Salon in 2018 (2018) by Mateusz TorbusKBF - Krakow Festival Office
About the project
The aim of the Krakow Art Salon, organised by the City of Krakow, KBF and the Artists – Innovation – Theory Foundation, was to bring together Krakow’s artistic circles, give the public an opportunity to interact with local artists and their latest projects.
the Public Views project (2016) by Ada Kopeć-PawlikowskaKBF - Krakow Festival Office
The concept of the salon started from an analysis of Cracovian artistic circles conducted as part of the Public Views project.
The aim of the project, ran jointly by KBF and the Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art in 2016, was to create a new format of presenting modern art based on analysing the art scene and challenges facing artists working and living in Krakow.
Krakow Arts Salon in 2019 (2019) by Mateusz TorbusKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Idea
The Krakow Art Salon was created in response to the problems identified by the project. The salon was a space for local artistic circles and a platform for intergenerational exchange of experience, as well as serving as an information point about artists and galleries.
During the first two instalments, Cracovians and tourists attended the exhibition and joined numerous guided tours, discussion panels, lectures, performances and auctions of some of the exhibited artworks.
Krakow Arts Salon 2018 - award ceremony (2018) by Mateusz TorbusKBF - Krakow Festival Office
One of the most important elements of each Krakow Art Salon was the announcements of the winners of Painting of the Year, Object of the Year, Media of the Year, Initiative of the Year, the Krakow Art Salon Grand Prix, the Audience Prize and the Wojtek Falęcki Creative Grant.
Winners of the 2018 competition:
Krakow Art Salon Grand Prix: Karol Palczak
Painting of the year: Marek Bro
Media of the Year: Przemysław Krzakiewicz
Initiative of the Year: Patrycja Maksylewicz
Object of the Year: Łukasz Skąpski
Audience Prize: Mateusz Hajdo
Wojtek Falęcki Creative Grant: Marek Chlanda
Krakow Arts Salon in 2019 - Gala (2019) by Mateusz TorbusKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Winners of the 2019 competition
Krakow Art Salon Grand Prix: @MISS_Keymo and @NO_PIC_NO_CHAT
Painting of the Year: Aleksandra Młynarczyk-Gemza
Media of the Year: Konstancja Nowina Konopka
Initiative of the Year: Bartosz Bielenia and Jaśmina Polak
Object of the Year: Maria Luiza Pyrlik
Audience Prize: Mazda Isphahan
Wojtek Falęcki Creative Grant: Dominika Kapusta
Winners of the 2020 competition
Person of the Year:
accurate disco
Anna Bolewska & Xawery Deskur
Kinga Burek
Przemek Krzakiewicz
Izabela Makocka
Daniel Mączka
Joanna Pawlik
Marta Romankiv
Grzegorz Siembida
Mateusz Stanuszek
Patrycja Steczek i Zuzanna Surma
Artur Trojanowski
WhyWe
Paweł Zięba
Space of the Year:
CSW Wiewiórka
Elementarz dla mieszkańców miast
Fundacja Freda Gijbelsa (Galeria Olympia)
Fundacja Nośna
Jak Zapomnieć
Jury of the Krakow Art Salon in 2019 (2019) by Mateusz TorbusKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Jury
The winning artworks were selected by acclaimed artists and personalities:
2018: Ewa Braun, Zofia Gołubiew, Katarzyna Janowska, Jaśmina Polak and Zbigniew Preisner
2019: Krzysztof Garbaczewski, Zofia Gołubiew, Katarzyna Janowska, Tomasz Lipiński and Jacek Poniedziałek
2020: Bogdan Achimescu, Bettina Bereś, Monika Drożyńska, Małgorzata Gołębiewska, Agnieszka Łakoma, Magdalena Kownacka, Gaweł Kownacki, Tomasz Kręcicki, Marta Podsiadło, Anka Sasnal and Magdalena Ujma
Klincz. Nowa architektura granic europejskich Clinch. ● New architecture of European borders (2017) by Łukasz Skąpski (object), Mateusz Torbus (photo of the object)KBF - Krakow Festival Office
Krakow Art Salon 2018
Of the 1038 submissions, the exhibition featured 116 artists presenting close to 200 works.
The artists include Cracovians living locally or all over the globe, as well as creators with perhaps very different cultural and geographical roots who have chosen to make Krakow their home.
Lawenda i siki (dyptyk) ● Lavender and piss (diptych) (2018) by Marek Bro (painting), Mateusz Torbus (photo of the painting)KBF - Krakow Festival Office
The paintings, drawings, prints, photos, sculptures, objects, installations, videos, documentations of performances and experimental audiovisual works submitted to the 2018 competition were presented at the Palace of Art until 21 October 2018.
The exhibition was visited by over 5,500 people over the course of nine days.
Layout of the Krakow Art Salon 2018
The layout and architecture of the salon, developed by Magdalena and Gaweł Kownacki (Artists – Innovation – Theory Foundation) with Łukasz Lendziński from the Umschichten studio, showcased diversity.
By using recycled materials, including remains of other events and festivals, the salon recalled grassroots, frequently underfinanced local initiatives and stressed that it is people rather than temporary constructions and expensive booths erected for just a few days are the essence of the event.
Krakow Art Salon 2019
The 2019 exhibition featured 132 artworks by artists and collectives with ties with Krakow, seen by over 8,000 visitors over the course of nine days.
The event also featured 16 guided tours and meetings with the artists, five panel discussions and a lecture. At the 2019 event, the youngest participant was 19 and the oldest 82.
Krakow Arts Salon in 2019 (2019) by Mateusz TorbusKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Layout of the Kraków Art Salon 2019
The minimalist layout of the 2019 exhibition was designed by Tomek Baran. His concept intertwined contemporary aesthetics of weddings, first communions and funerals with romantic landscapes and English gardens, and Baran’s signature use of common building materials.
Uszy żyrafy ● Giraffe ears by Anna Bolewska i Xawery DeskurKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Krakow Art Salon 2020
Following the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, the Krakow Art Salon was forced to change format to become a competition awarding prizes to “labourers of the art” as well as developing effective mechanisms of collaboration between the city and artistic circles.
In 2020, the Krakow Art Salon replaced the word “Artwork” in the names of its awards with “Individuals” and “Places”. The symbolic change shifts the stress and attention from objects to people. The total prize fund was 100,000 zlotys divided among 14 Individuals working in Krakow and five Places operating in the city.
