MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art
Kraków Artists: Painters and Sculptors
MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków, a municipal cultural institution created on 1 February 2010 and opened on 19 May 2011, on the site of the former Schindler Factory. Its exhibitions focus mainly on the art of the last two decades, with post-war avant-garde and conceptualism as the exhibition context. The permanent collection includes works by over two hundred artists, among them Marina Abramović, Paweł Althamer, Edward Dwurnik, Katarzyna Kozyra, Zofia Kulik and Zbigniew Libera. Artistic projects are accompanied by educational, research and publishing projects.
History
MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków, is located on the site of the former Schindler Factory at 4 Lipowa Street. The art world had been discussing the idea of such a museum for many years. In 2004 the City of Kraków bought the factory buildings and land with a new institution in mind, and on 1 February 2010 it was established as a municipal cultural institution. The design was chosen in a competition in 2007: an eleven-member jury chaired by Konrad Kucza-Kuczyński singled out the entry by Claudio Nardi and Leonardo Maria Proli. Construction lasted from December 2009 to November 2010 and cost more than 70 million zlotys, half of which came from European Union funds.
One new building was put up on the factory site, and six existing ones were adapted. Nardi's concept rests on three principles: an emphasised sawtooth roofline, straight lines and natural light in the exhibition halls. The architect draws on Neo-Modernism. The exhibition space covers almost 4 thousand square metres, and the whole complex about 10 thousand.
The museum opened on 19 May 2011, and its first director was the curator and art theorist Maria Anna Potocka. Its programme focuses mainly on the art of the last two decades, set in the context of the post-war avant-garde and conceptualism. The permanent collection includes works by more than two hundred artists, among them Marina Abramović, Paweł Althamer, Edward Dwurnik, Katarzyna Kozyra, Zofia Kulik and Zbigniew Libera. The collection is shown on level -1, and temporary exhibitions are held on the second level. The gallery for solo exhibitions, design, sound and text is in the smaller building B. The museum grounds also have a library, which holds the book collection of the art critic and theorist Mieczysław Porębski, as well as a bookshop, a café and a conservation studio for contemporary art.
Did you know?
The museum was really opened twice. The building was first opened to the public on 16 November 2010, but it was not yet finished and visitors saw empty rooms. The proper opening did not take place until 19 May 2011.