Temporary exhibitions in Krakow
A practical overview of temporary exhibitions in Krakow’s museums. No reviews - just good context and everything worth knowing before your visit.
On now (37)
Andrzej Pawłowski. Kineforms
from 16 February 2026
A projector, a film and 1950s documents: Andrzej Pawłowski's kineforms, moving light images from the Cricot 2 stage, at Kantor's Gallery-Studio on ul. Sienna.
Born of Passion: Calculating Machines from the Walter Szrek Collection
from 13 June 2025
Walter Szrek gave the university 500+ antique calculating machines, the oldest surviving Odhner among them. A selection at Collegium Maius, weekdays at noon.
Archaeological Wanderings: From Zesławice to Cło
from 1 May 2026
The prehistory of Kraków's Nowa Huta district, village by village: original finds and comic-strip panels at the Archaeological Museum's Branice branch.
Unimaginable. The Void After the Great Synagogues
from 30 November 2025
Engravings, photographs and plans of great synagogues from 13 Polish cities, never rebuilt after the war. Galicia Jewish Museum, Krakow; closing date unknown.
The State of Possession. The Topography of the MOCAK Collection - Part 1
24 July 2026 - 18 October 2026
An exhibition built on the experience of absence - the MOCAK team examines its own Collection and the institution's condition across five metaphorical chapters.
Katarzyna Krakowiak-Bałka. Ecologies of Togetherness
7 March 2026 - 18 October 2026
Katarzyna Krakowiak-Bałka's year-long residency treats MOCAK's building as a living organism - the museum's first site-specific project built on a residency.
Roots and Sky. The Polish Chapter in the Collection of the Kyiv National Art Gallery
26 June 2026 - 18 October 2026
Nine Polish painters of the 19th and early 20th century from the Kyiv National Art Gallery - first shown in Poland, in the Malarnia Hall at the Sukiennice.
Yiannis Kranidiotis. Tipping Point
15 October 2026 - 18 October 2026
Yiannis Kranidiotis's kinetic installation: metronomes driven by climate data. At MOCAK for the Patchlab festival, 15-18 October 2026 only, ticket 10 PLN.
Precious, Most Precious. Works from the Princes Czartoryski Library
14 April 2026 - 25 October 2026
The Długosz Annals autograph, Copernicus's first edition, Rej's Zwierzyniec and Chopin's Krakowiak: Czartoryski Library treasures until 25 October 2026.
Art and Trade. Krakow of Craftsmen
15 May 2026 - 25 October 2026
The world of Krakow's craftsmen from the 15th to the 20th century - guilds, workshops, masterpieces and guild ritual - at the Krzysztofory Palace.
Krakow Bobbin Lace - A Living Heritage
18 September 2026 - 25 October 2026
Krakow bobbin lace, ten years on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage: work by the Krakow Region Lacemakers Association at Krzysztofory Palace.
Now Everything Will Be Different: Karolina Breguła
18 September 2026 - 25 October 2026
Karolina Breguła's films and photographs from Taiwan on demolished homes and a changing coastline, at Manggha's Europe - Far East Gallery until 25 October.
Tokyo Story
18 September 2026 - 25 October 2026
A Krakow painter found a mural in Tokyo that looked like his own and went looking for its author. Studio 2's search, at the Manggha Museum until 25 October.
What Do Health and Mental Wellbeing Mean to You?
1 October 2026 - 29 October 2026
Photographs by psychology students and people who have lived through a mental health crisis, made with Photovoice: Krzysztofory Palace, 1-29 Oct 2026.
Open House: The Imagined Object
7 October 2026 - 30 October 2026
Hipolit House is open again: Krakow Academy of Fine Arts artists respond to everyday objects from its collection, 7-30 Oct 2026, Wed-Sun, 22 PLN.
Celine Levitan. The Language of Pearls
8 July 2026 - 31 October 2026
Stitched paintings of embroidery, sequins and faux pearls by Celine Levitan in the Wyspiański Pavilion: Bunkier Sztuki, open daily 9:00-19:00 until 31 October.
Nowa Huta - Dimitrovgrad
10 September 2026 - 10 November 2026
An open-air show by the Nowa Huta Museum on Aleja Róż sets Nowa Huta beside Dimitrovgrad in Bulgaria, a town built from 1947. Until 10 November 2026.
Akitsushima. The Island of Dragonflies
19 July 2026 - 11 November 2026
The dragonfly in Japanese culture - from the country's oldest name to samurai symbolism - told through a collection of Japanese armour at the Manggha Museum.
Warrior Women: Japanese Herstories
19 July 2026 - 11 November 2026
Onna bugeisha - women trained in martial arts - in Japanese ukiyo-e prints. An exhibition at the Manggha Museum on strength, strategy and collective memory.
Polish Design: Object Biographies / Designer Biographies
23 September 2026 - 13 December 2026
Sixteen Polish designers and studios, their work shown next to the personal things they live and work with. Bunkier Sztuki, Krakow, until 13 December 2026.
Zofia Kulik. Instead of Sculpture. Footnotes
3 October 2026 - 20 December 2026
Zofia Kulik's 1971 diploma: nearly 500 slides instead of a sculpture, shown in a Polish museum for the first time. MuFo Rakowicka, 3 Oct - 20 Dec 2026, 5 PLN.
Vincent van Gogh: Country Cottages Among the Trees
29 January 2026 - 31 December 2026
The only van Gogh in a Polish public collection: a small 1883 landscape in the National Museum in Krakow, on view until 31 December 2026, on the branch ticket.
In the Paris Atelier of Stanisław Wyspiański and Józef Mehoffer
26 June 2026 - 31 December 2026
Wyspiański and Mehoffer drawing each other in 1890s Paris, plus a pastel of their studio: a small display at the Wyspiański Museum, 18 PLN, until 31 Dec 2026.
Intersections. Papercuts by Anna Wencel
2 July 2026 - 31 December 2026
Dozens of contemporary papercuts by Anna Wencel, mixing Jewish, Polish and Ukrainian traditions. Galicia Jewish Museum, Kazimierz, until 31 December 2026.
Mirella von Chrupek. Romance au chocolat
23 September 2026 - 3 January 2027
Five cases of chocolate dioramas by Mirella von Chrupek, made for Warsaw's Wedel museum, on the mezzanine of Bunkier Sztuki in Krakow until 3 January 2027.
Kinga Nowak. A tropikal fiva uv regrejt
23 September 2026 - 3 January 2027
Kinga Nowak's paintings and sculptures beside Hasior, folk art and archives: colonialism and the Polish view of the "exotic" at Bunkier Sztuki, Krakow.
Lares and Penates. On Building a Sense of Security in Architecture
24 September 2026 - 6 January 2027
Poland's 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale show, home for the first time: fire extinguishers and CCTV beside a storm candle and salt - at Wawel Royal Castle.
Hotel Forum
29 May 2026 - 10 January 2027
Krakow's brutalist Hotel Forum seen through its former staff: the guest book, a waiter's notebook, uniforms and recorded memories, at the Podgórze Museum.
I Was Tadeusz Kantor's Assistant. Andrzej Wajda
6 October 2026 - 10 January 2027
In 1976 Andrzej Wajda filmed Kantor's The Dead Class. Until 10 January 2027 Cricoteka shows unseen documents from the shoot, film excerpts and recordings.
Satire and Comics by Jan Matejko
15 May 2026 - 31 January 2027
Jan Matejko's satirical drawings and caricatures, shown in his own house on Floriańska. Until 31 January 2027, included in the 18 PLN branch ticket.
The Faces of Czapski
18 September 2026 - 31 January 2027
Józef Czapski the painter: over 50 paintings and drawings, mostly from private collections, at the National Museum in Krakow until 31 January 2027.
Under Sails and Stars - Seas, Ports and Sailors
8 September 2026 - 7 February 2027
Early printed books, maps and atlases from the 16th-18th centuries on navigation, shipbuilding and sea voyages: 76 objects at the Czapski Museum, Krakow.
Picasso and the Pikasiaks. Modern Ceramics
11 September 2026 - 7 February 2027
Six earthenware platters Picasso gave Poland in 1948, shown with Polish ceramics of the post-1956 Thaw at Szolayski House, Krakow, until 7 February 2027.
Citizen Cepelia
9 October 2026 - 21 February 2027
Cepelia from kilims to posters: a survey of the state agency that furnished Polish homes under communism. National Museum in Krakow, 9 Oct 2026 - 21 Feb 2027.
Under a Knitted Sky - Installation
5 October 2026 - 26 February 2027
Crochet squares made by more than 100 people from the Dziergamy Na Polu group, joined into a sunshade: a free installation at Krzysztofory Palace to Feb 2027.
Moda Polska (Polish Fashion) in the Collection of the National Museum in Krakow
19 June 2026 - 13 June 2027
Moda Polska, the state fashion firm: garments by Kalina Paroll, Magda Ignar and Jerzy Antkowiak from the late 1960s to the 1990s, at the Szolayski House.
The Kitchen From the Inside
27 March 2026 - 31 December 2027
How technology changed the Polish kitchen, from coal stove to dishwasher. Museum of Engineering and Technology, Kazimierz, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, until 2027.
Coming soon (6)
Schindler's Factory - Histories of the Place
16 October 2026 - 8 August 2027
Histories of Oskar Schindler's factory: industrial Zabłocie, DEF, Telpod, Solidarity and the survivors' memory. At Schindler's Factory from 16 October 2026.
Fort Sztuki 3026
18 October 2026 - 31 October 2026
Fort Sztuki returns to Kraków after 20 years, hosted by MOCAK: archive, films, a panel and performances. Opens 16 October; the show runs until 31 October 2026.
Anna Jagiellon. All the Faces of the Queen
23 October 2026 - 14 February 2027
Anna Jagiellon in her own right, not just as a king's daughter and wife: six rooms on Wawel's first floor and every known portrait of her. From 23 Oct 2026.
Revolution, Progress, Imperialism… Nineteenth-Century Paper Money
23 October 2026 - 11 April 2027
French assignats, Polish treasury notes of 1794, shares, scrip and lottery tickets: 19th-century paper money at the Czapski Museum from 23 October 2026.
Eiko Ishioka. Who Am I?
11 November 2026 - 17 January 2027
Nearly 80 posters by Eiko Ishioka, who won an Oscar for the costumes in Coppola's Dracula, at the Manggha Museum from 11 November 2026 to 17 January 2027.
Whispers of Rain, Silence of Snow. Kawase Hasui
29 November 2026 - 28 February 2027
Poland's first Kawase Hasui show: 103 shin-hanga woodblock prints from the Galerie Nouvelle collection, rain and snow of old Japan. Manggha, from 29.11.2026.
Recently closed
Wild Frolics. An Exhibition for All
11 March 2026 - 11 October 2026
Wild Frolics. An Exhibition for All at Cricoteka closed on 11 October 2026. See Cricoteka's current shows on Andrzej Wajda and Andrzej Pawłowski.
Kraków. Sounds, Melodies, Words
20 February 2026 - 11 October 2026
Kraków. Sounds, Melodies, Words at the House Under the Cross. Exhibition closed 11 October 2026. See the current exhibitions of the Museum of Krakow.
On the Need for Archaeological Work in West Prussia... Godfryd Ossowski's Legacy in Vistula Pomerania, 150 Years After His Fieldwork Began
8 July 2026 - 8 October 2026
Godfryd Ossowski's Legacy at the Archaeological Museum of Krakow. Exhibition closed on 8 October 2026. See the museum's current exhibitions.
Soon Everything Will Change
24 April 2026 - 4 October 2026
Joanna Rajkowska's Soon Everything Will Change at Wawel. Closed 4 October 2026. See the current exhibitions at Wawel Royal Castle and other Krakow shows.
Cracovia - 120 Years of History
18 August 2026 - 30 September 2026
Cracovia - 120 Years of History at Krzysztofory Palace. Exhibition closed 30 September 2026. See the Museum of Krakow's current shows at the palace.