I had not realized how indifferent we've become to the extraordinary nowadays. If a Moon walk is possible, so is everything else.[1]

Stanisław Lem, The Investigation

Is it possible that something as damaging to the body and mind as disease has a positive effect? Curator Agnieszka Skalska argues that medical conditions can and do inspire art. The exhibition Choroba jako źródło sztuki (Illness as a Source of Art) is on view at the National Museum of Poznań until 11 August.

The Animator International Animated Film Festival ranks as one of Europe's largest events dedicated to animation. It is scheduled to commence on 5 July.

War and peace, the place of the individual in the world of global conflicts and other topics falling under the slogan "Army of the Individual" of this year's Malta Idiom will be discussed by Kasia Tórz, the festival's programmer, and Nástio Mosquito, the curator of the idiom.

What great news: the renowned Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek and his quartet are set to appear in Poznań on 30^th June. The artists will perform in Sala Ziemi (the Earth Hall) on the grounds of the Poznań International Fair. Tickets for the event are available now.

Installations, happenings, performances, concerts, films, discussions... - this year's Malta festival will again overstep genre boundaries and connect distant micro worlds. The 10-day event is scheduled to kick off on June 21.

"As we debate the programme, we always make it clear that every musician that Leszek Możdżer invites should bring the fresh energy of a debuting artist onto the stage." This year, Leszek Możdżer takes a different approach by proposing to tie the concerts together with an ethnic theme," says Jerzy Gumny, director and founder of Enter Enea Festival, scheduled for 17 June.

Phenomenal bands from India, Algeria, Belize, Colombia and other countries alongside superb Polish performers are set to appear in the 12^th Ethno Port festival this mid-June. Brace for a revelry of concerts, workshops, meetings and games.

One of Poznań's biggest, annual, mass cultural events is Night of the Museums. Participants can always count on a myriad of attractions, but also on long queues. And yet, no one is complaining, and no wonder, as every year, museums and other participating institutions prepare a raft of unforgettable treats.

"It is with deep reverence and great love that we welcome the arrival of our highest-level institution of education, which will guard and disseminate knowledge, thus contributing to the building of our state," said the Dziennik Poznański daily in May 1919. The University of Poznań was opened a century ago.

A concert by the world-famous Italian-born tenor Andrea Bocelli will grace the celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the University of Poznań. Tickets for the concert, to be held in the Inea Stadium on 19 May 2019, are still available.

If you feel, or want to feel at home in Poznań, Porta Posnania has just the May weekend event for you. A celebration of its fifth anniversary.

Every year, large flocks of migrating species can be spotted in Poznań. Magicians, fairies, vampires, elves, superheroes and even zombies descend in droves onto the city's Trade Fair grounds. What drives them to make the journey?

The fifth year of Spring Break is no time for recapitulations as the event has never stopped growing and gaining momentum. Every year on one weekend in April, music fans from all parts of Europe take over the city. What is there to expect in the upcoming sixth edition of Spring Break?

This April and May, the Zamek (Castle) Cultural Centre will host the exhibition "Out of Town. Sovinec - the Unofficial Czech Culture Centre 1979-1989". This extraordinary display is an unusual case of a peripheral location rising to become a true centre of independent art. It is also a story of a remarkable person who passionately built an anti-state underground scene.

They are integral to every music album. Some, like those for Nirvana's "Nevermind" and The Beatles' "Abbey Road", grow to become iconic. They help interpret the music of some albums and serve as basic graphic form of identification for others. They all have to stand out to attract the buyers of albums either on a shelf or a popular streaming website. They are album covers and this year, for the fifth time, they are going to vie for primacy in the album art contest dubbed Konkurs 30/30.

Both the Piano.pl concert, held two years ago in Warsaw, and the album released to commemorate the occasion, were truly stunning. Now, Dorota Miśkiewicz, the main driving force behind the project, along with an impressive line-up of Polish jazz piano greats, are coming to Poznań.

Interview with ANNA MORYTO, originator of the Costume History Museum of Poznań, conducted by MONIKA NAWROCKA-LEŚNIK

The Death of Ophelia is a little-known monodrama by Stanisław Wyspiański, written when the author was severely ill and physically incapacitated. According to an article by Monika Wycykał published in the Katowice Dziennik Teatralny, the work essentially concerns the question of how one should speak when approaching death. The crossing of the line between life and death became the inspiration for Jerzy Fryderyk Wojciechowski, a 32-year-old composer from Poznań.

The eleventh edition of the Short Waves Festival is around the corner, this time under the motto "Outside The Box". The focus programme will direct our collective gaze to an unexpected place: South-East Asia. Seize the opportunity and delve into a world of stories, documentaries, animations, video clips and experiment.

Don't miss the remarkable exhibition coming to the Poznań Fotoplastykon. Even the venue itself that houses the photoplasticon, an apparatus also known as the kaiserpanorama (or emperor's panorama), is extraordinary. After a brief interruption, the Fotoplastykon is back, set in the historic Arkadia building, serving as a time machine for the enjoyment of all buffs of Wielkopolska history.

The Fotoplastykon, dubbed "the big brown drum" by the poet Zbigniew Herbert, is a device used to display stereoscopic photographs. It converts two nearly identical images into a single 3D picture by means of its optical mechanism. Every visit to the Poznań Fotoplastykon is a journey through time...

So it is possible. Saint Martin (or Święty Marcin in Polish, one of the city's most important streets) is awakening from its coma, after two decades of slumber, as the renovation of the first stretch of the street between ul. Gwarna and ul. Ratajczaka nears completion.

The Narracje. (Narratives) Bohdan Cieślak exhibition in the National Museum is not so much an opportunity to view the artist's stage designs, as a chance to see what is normally hidden from the view of audiences, and what, in fact, begins the scenic visual concept. The exhibition opens on 17 February.

Here is an exhibition that is not to be missed: "Scenes of no importance", a display of collages featuring people in photographs by Jan Kurek, to be held in the Porta Posnania building from January to March.

Algiers are returning to Poland. This is the band's third visit to Poznań, having appeared in various other cities in Poland, too. Don't miss the opportunity to see them live. They are scheduled to play in Poznań's Klub u Bazyla on 18 February.

The Memories of Memories is the crowning event of Bettina Bereś's residency at ZAMEK Culture Centre in Poznań. The Cracow-based artist had long since wanted to get to know Poznań, exploring the places associated with the history of her family.

It would be a simplification to say that Warsaw Sentimental Orchestra plays retro urban folk. It is a team of musicians which literally transfer its fans to the times of twenties, when hits of Adam Aston, Henryk Wars or Jerzy Petersburski reigned on Polish dance floors and in the Polish movies.

Any music lovers who need a lot of cajoling to leave the comfort of their homes on a winter night should check out the February repertoire of the Poznań Philharmonic. In spite of the freezing weather outside, the interiors of the University Auditorium will feel almost spring-like. Audiences are in for a refreshingly uncommon repertoire and a wealth of novel interpretations.

The uncontested world-renowned Israeli music celebrity vocalist Yasmin Levy, known for her sensational interpretations of Sephardic songs and her tango or flamenco performances, will appear in Poznań this April. Tickets for the event are already available.