Cracow Art Week is the evolution of the Cracow Gallery Weekend KRAKERS project, which since 2012 has been promoting contemporary art in the space of Cracow, creating a platform for communication, education, information and promotion as well as a meeting place for independent art centers and city residents. 6 years ago the organizers of the Cracow Gallery Weekend decided to transform the well-known KRAKERS into a week-long event.

The event returns to appear in the spaces of Cracow’s art galleries, studios, as well as unusual public and non-public spaces on April 19-26, 2024. The theme of the 13th edition of KRAKERS is “Feel, feel, keep feeling”. It is a version of the famous Polish scout call, which is a kind of greeting or farewell. It is not an exclamatory phrase as in the original, but an encouragement to immerse in yourself, deepen your feelings and focus on your emotions. More and more attention is paid to both the psychological layer of works of art and the mental condition of the creators themselves. Artists go beyond the issues of art, and creativity becomes psychologized. Contemporary artists care about their well-being and emotional balance, use psychotherapy and are therefore more aware and confident of their goals. For the participants of the Cracow Art Week, concepts and values such as care, concern and mindfulness are also important. For example, the positive effects of art on recipients that are used in art therapy are visible.

Empathy, tenderness, sensitivity, the desire for a fulfillment in life characterize many artists, not only the young generation. Thus, a generational switch takes place, a switch between generations, but there also appears a bridge between the past and the present. Artists engage in creative work by choice, with all the consequences, often taking great risks, but they respect what they create, they respect each other, they judge less, they are sensitive to each other and the world around them. During this year’s edition, the topic of the condition of the planet and noticeable climate changes, present in the public sphere, but also in our everyday conversations, will be transformed into a story about the most tender and intimate experiences. Creators, animators, and art school lecturers communicate their discoveries and, by communicating through art, share them with the audience through experiencing and feeling.

The competition part of the Laboratory section has a particularly important mission in this matter, encouraging the presentation of projects corresponding to this year’s theme “Feel, feel, keep feeling” as part of the Main Program. It is addressed in particular to those who often do not have permanent premises or places – both individual artists and collectives.