Summer in Poznań? Same as ever - bursting with music! And not just any old tunes - we're talking about every genre there is. Coming up: this year's edition of the #NaFalach free concert series, shows at Scena nad Rusałką (The Rusałka Lake Stage), and another round of the Poznań Rock Festival.
Once a year, the whole fantastical universe ever invented converges at Pyrkon. For the past 25 years, this Poznań-based festival has been a celebration of all things fantasy, bringing together an incredible variety of worlds and characters. This special anniversary edition takes place from 13-15 June, as usual on the grounds of Poznań International Fair.
A promise of a laid-back celebration, with a joyful dive into original sounds from across the globe, and a heartfelt tribute to fading traditions and forgotten ethnic minorities. Get ready for Ethno Port Poznań 2025!
Sidewalks covered with earthworms after the rain, flip phones, sending messages from internet cafés, the PWN Universal Encyclopaedia as the 90s equivalent of ChatGPT, checking the TV schedule on teletext, a display case full of crystal trinkets - sound familiar? Some of these memories are crystal clear, while others have been brought back to me by the Instagram profile @polish_nostalgia, which I stumbled upon while looking for articles on the nostalgic "90s. It's these wild, colourful, plastic years that are the focus of the latest exhibition at the Zamek (Castle) Cultural Centre, curated by Tomasz Żaglewski.
This year's Museum Night offers access to over seventy different venues. On Saturday 17 May, starting at 2pm and running late into the night, visitors will have a chance to explore both permanent and temporary collections, take part in a variety of special events, and even set foot in places that are normally off-limits, such as the Regional Police Headquarters and the Jesuit Monastery!
The 22nd Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival will be making its sixth appearance in Poznań. This year's theme is "World Between Us". From 9 to 18 May, some of the finest documentary films covering topics like politics, culture, sport, and more will be showed at Kino Muza, with online access screenings available from 20 May to 2 June.
The choice to develop Poznań on the right bank of the Warta marked a radical shift in urban planning as the city had previously mainly grown westward, with the river acting as a natural barrier to eastward development. In the aftermath of the war, a lack of available land and an acute housing crisis pushed urban planners to focus on the former suburban villages of Rataje, Chartowo, and Żegrze on the Warta's right bank.
A museum dedicated to the Polish People's Republic has opened in a historic townhouse near Poznań's Old Market Square, taking visitors on a journey 70 years back in time.
A true master of his craft, Chełmoński shaped the course of Polish art with his timeless masterpieces. Adapted in mainstream films and TV shows and reimagined across different cultural mediums, they remain continue to inspire successive generations of artists. The exhibition "Józef Chełmoński 1849-1914" on view at the National Museum of Poznań makes his artistic brilliance more tangible than ever.
How people view life after fifty can differ widely. Some continue to forge ahead as if age were just a number, while others reflect on the looming twilight of their lives. However, turning fifty can also be a time of reinvention and flourishing, as is the case with the Poznań Musical Spring festival.
If Polish music festivals formed a galaxy, the Next Fest Music Showcase & Conference 2025 would be one of its most radiant constellations.
This March marks the opening of the first chapter of the Warta River Blues Festival - a three-day event promising top-tier live blues extravaganza, to be hosted by Klub Muchos. For those who need a reminder of what this genre sounds like at its purest and most electrifying, this is the place to be from 27-29 March.
This season, Wielki Theatre will be expanding the festivals launched last year. One of them is Przedwiośnie Baletowe (Prelude to Spring Ballet Festival). In its second edition, the festival builds on last year's ideas while remaining closely connected to the world outside.
The Stanisław Siedlecki Polish Polar Station at Hornsund is Poland' s northernmost year-round research facility. Located on the island of Spitsbergen in the Hornsund fjord, it has served as a home for researchers and Arctic enthusiasts for nearly seven decades.
In mid-February, the Wielki Theatre will present 4: Pastor / León & Lightfoot / Bondara, a ballet production shaped by the vision of four acclaimed choreographers, whose names are featured in the event's title.
The exhibition "Zooom. Personal is Political" at the Arsenał Municipal Gallery showcases the works of women artists who are not merely grouped but actually networked through the MalerinnenNetzWerk Berlin-Leipzig (MNW). Although the majority of the collective's members are German, a number of Polish artists have also been invited to participate in the exhibition and its initiative that preceded it.
Klub Blue Note may have only one concert in January, but it's sure to be remarkable. On the last Sunday of the month, Francesca Tandoi - an Italian jazz pianist and vocalist - will take to the stage. Widely regarded by critics as an emerging star of European jazz and one of the most captivating young talents on today's international jazz scene, Francesca will be joined by Matheus Nicolaievsky on double bass and Sander Smeets on drums.
Meetings with legendary figures from the past often come with a certain risk for the audience. However, there will surely be no shortage of people eager to hear for themselves how the punk rock classics - The Exploited - are doing today! The band is coming to Poznań as part of their Let's Stop a War tour.
The Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio will host the third edition of the Evenings with Amadeus festival, to be held on four evenings in January (7th, 9th, 14th, and 16th of January) at the orchestra's headquarters at Al. Marcinkowskiego 3, in the hall where the Orchestra musicians usually rehearse. This acoustically flawless space will serve as a concert hall during the festival, open to a wide audience.
After a hiatus of several years, the people of Poznań will once again have the opportunity to celebrate the coming of the New Year. This time, the city's grand New Year's Eve party will take place on the Poznań International Fair grounds. In addition to concerts by stars such as Mezo, Liber, Igo, and Sound'n'Grace, numerous attractions await. Notably though, the event will be held without a fireworks display.
As we dashed around the shops in the pre-Christmas frenzy, we were bombarded with sounds from every direction. The music in shopping centres was force-feeding us the Christmas spirit, competing with announcements of sales and promotions. Holiday classics echoed everywhere, and some were still licking their wounds from losing the online #Whamageddon challenge. In this game, participants aim to make it to 24 December without even once hearing Last Christmas by Wham! If they fail, they post the appropriate hashtag online. When Christmas Eve finally arrived, and the dust began to settle, we sat down for dinner and a timeless, natural element of the winter soundscape came to the fore - carols.
Jeans, miniskirts, printed T-shirts, and sunglasses are now fashion classics-almost clichés. The same could be said of trainers. Could there possibly be anything noteworthy about shoes worn by generations of students in PE lessons and dyed for rock festivals? As it turns out, 40 years have passed since an event transformed these sports shoes into a style icon, a collector's item, and an identity symbol all at once.
Who said Christmas only lasts a few days? Once again, the City of Poznań and local artists prove they have a different idea. We've gathered a programme of festive winter events waiting for you to join in. Enjoy!
Since 18 October, the Zamek Cultural Centre has been hosting the compelling exhibition Illusions of Omnipotence, curated by Aleksandra Paradowska in collaboration with Annika Wienert
It's as official as King Charles III's ceremonial attire and the protocols of Buckingham Palace: Poznań has a new film festival! On 13 November, the Muza cinema will host the very first edition of the British Film Festival, likely the most British festival of its kind in this part of Europe.
Piano virtuoso, composer, activist, politician, prime minister: for the people of Wielkopolska, Jan Ignacy Paderewski is a figure closely tied to the breakout of the 1918 uprising. This year, the Wielkopolska Bona Fide Association will celebrate him with a festival in his honour and name for the third time.
The Warta. Exercises in Imagination is a new temporary exhibition on view since mid-October at the Śluza Gallery on Cathedral Island. The exhibition explores the recent history of the Warta River in Poznań through ecological, historical, and social lenses.
What was Wilda like in the past? Full of surprises and contrasts. This is vividly captured in the latest exhibition at Poznań's Fotoplastikon. Using a remarkable collection of photographs posted on cyryl.poznan.pl, the exhibition reveals the extent of the transformations seen in this part of the city over the past few decades. These historic images are paired with contemporary photos by Grzegorz Dembiński.
Can a city become a sanctuary of calm? What helps us unwind? Can architecture and design play a role? For answers to all these questions, join us for the 11th edition of the Poznań Design Festival.
Every time one improvises in music, it is a plunge into the unknown, not just for the audience, but also for the artists themselves. It involves exploring new undiscovered sounds and emotions that emerge the moment they are produced. Through its emphasis on interacting with the audience, improvised music excels over all other approaches. In Poznań, the annual Spontaneous Music Festival offers a perfect setting for exploring this unique form of art.
