New Forms, Old Inspirations - An Exhibition of Ceramics and Linocuts

The exhibition “New Forms, Old Inspirations” (Nowe Formy, Dawne Inspiracje) shows ceramics and linocuts by participants of art therapy groups, 30 October 2026 - 30 November 2026 , at Krzysztofory Palace of the Museum of Krakow. The museum classes it as a community exhibition, and its curator is Mira Magiera.

Museum of Krakow on the exhibition (our translation of the museum’s Polish text):

The exhibition “Nowe Formy, Dawne Inspiracje” (New Forms, Old Inspirations) presents the work of participants of art therapy groups run within the Stowarzyszenie na Rzecz Rozwoju Psychiatrii i Opieki Środowiskowej in Krakow. The exhibition includes ceramic works and linocuts whose making was preceded by a dialogue with the work of old and contemporary masters. Inspirations from the history of art became the starting point for individual interpretations, for a search for one’s own means of expression and for the creation of original artistic forms. The works on show reveal how references to existing works can lead to new, autonomous creative statements. The exhibition is a space for presenting a variety of artistic attitudes, highlighting the importance of creativity, individual expression and a creative dialogue with tradition.

What to expect

The works were made in art therapy groups run within the Stowarzyszenie na Rzecz Rozwoju Psychiatrii i Opieki Środowiskowej (Association for the Development of Psychiatry and Community Care) in Krakow. The exhibition’s poster also names participants of an ŚDS alongside these groups.

You will see two techniques: ceramic works and linocuts. Their makers started from the work of old and contemporary masters and then looked for their own means of expression. So these are not copies, but new works that grew out of a dialogue with other people’s art.

The museum does not say which masters the individual works refer to, and it gives no number of works. This is a community exhibition, not a show from the museum’s collections: you come for the makers and their own interpretations.

Context

Linocut is a relief printing technique in which the matrix is a sheet of linoleum. The same word also names a print made with this technique.

Art therapy, according to Wikipedia, is treatment through art; the Polish name, arteterapia, joins the Latin word ars, meaning art, with therapy. In this exhibition therapy meets the history of art: the works were made in art therapy groups, and their starting point was the work of old and contemporary masters.

Tickets and time

Ticket: the exhibition is free, so you can drop in without budgeting for it, for instance during another visit to the palace.

Where: on the ground floor of Krzysztofory Palace, in the Pod Arkadami (Under the Arcades) space.

When: the exhibition runs for only a month, 30 October 2026 - 30 November 2026 , so do not put off your visit. The palace’s opening hours: Tue-Sun: 10:00-18:00, Mon: closed; 18 December until 14:00, 31 December permanent exhibition 10:00-15:00.

Time needed: this is one ground-floor space with works in two techniques, so allow about 20 minutes for the exhibition itself. If you want to look for the models behind the works, add a quarter of an hour.

Who it is for: people interested in ceramics, printmaking and art therapy, therapists and art teachers, and anyone who likes looking for traces of older art in a new work.

Who can skip it: anyone looking for works by the old masters in the original or for an exhibition from the Museum of Krakow’s collections. Here you see works by participants of art therapy groups that grew out of those works.

See also

Other exhibitions in Krakow:

• Picasso and the Pikasiaks. Modern Ceramics
• Under a Knitted Sky - Installation
• A View of the Krakowianki - Tola Certowicz

Up-to-date information on the exhibition is on its page on the Museum of Krakow website.

Museum profile: Krzysztofory Palace - Museum of Krakow.