Cricoteka
Kraków Artists: Theatre, Cabaret and Film
The Tadeusz Kantor Art Documentation Centre, a cultural institution of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship self-government, founded in 1980 and, since 2014, housed in the former Podgórze power station at Nadwiślańska Street 2-4. For many years it was the base of the Cricot 2 Theatre and a theatre archive; rehearsals took place in the cellars of the chapter house at Kanonicza Street 5. Since Kantor's death one of the main tasks of Cricoteka has been to spread the artist's work, in both theatre and the visual arts, through academic conferences and exhibitions.
History
Cricoteka is an institution devoted to Tadeusz Kantor, a painter, stage designer and director born in 1915 in Wielopole Skrzyńskie. In Kraków he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, and during the occupation he ran the underground Independent Theatre. From 1955 he led the Cricot 2 theatre, where he staged first the plays of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz and later his own productions, including "The Dead Class" (1975) and "Wielopole, Wielopole" (1980). He died in Kraków in 1990.
The centre was founded in 1980. For many years it served both as the base and the archive of the Cricot 2 theatre, with rehearsals and a gallery in the cellars of the chapter house at 5 Kanonicza Street. After the artist's death its main task became promoting his work - in theatre and in the visual arts - through academic conferences and exhibitions in Poland and abroad. Until 2014 it was based at 2 Szczepańska Street.
The current building on Nadwiślańska Street opened on 12 September 2014. It incorporates the former Podgórze power station, built in 1899-1900 for the town of Podgórze. After Podgórze was merged with Kraków the power station was closed, and in 1926 the buildings were turned into a municipal hostel and bathhouse for homeless people; later a health clinic was also based here. The design of the new part, by the IQ2 consortium, won the Grand Prix of the "Polityka" Architecture Award in 2014.
Did you know?
"The Dead Class" was recorded in 1976 in Andrzej Wajda's documentary film "The Dead Class. A Séance by T. Kantor".