Dreams of Zion

Jerusalem hills, the location of the Ark of Covenant, Biblical description of Israel… Zion is more than just a spot on a map; it is a symbol of a longing for a homeland and a dream of a promised land – themes explored during this year’s Jewish Culture Festival.

“We dedicate this year’s festival to Zion – both in the real and the imaginary sense – because it remains constant and eternal. It’s significant that this year we are celebrating the centenary of Poland regaining independence and the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the state of Israel. Both nations – the former after 123 years, the latter after two millennia – regained their own Zion. I hope neither ever lose it again,” says Janusz Makuch, founder and director of the Jewish Culture Festival, describing the event’s theme.

A space for art

Organisers of the 28th Jewish Culture Festival (22 June – 1 July) breathe life into forgotten places which nevertheless form an important part of the lives of many generations of Cracovian Jews. The Jerusalem-based collective of Polish and Israeli artists HaMiffal comes to the Bosak family apartment at 32 Św. Sebastiana Street to create a series of site-specific works prepared especially for the festival. They will reveal the site’s history and its ties to Jerusalem by presenting snippets of personal experiences, historical turmoil and ideological choices.

The festival features performance-themed tours, with guides Patrycja Kowańska and Łukasz Wojtysko revealing unexpected, hidden aspects of the Kazimierz district. Together with the Krakow Festival Office, the organisers also host a cycle of literary meetings and lectures, including events at Czesław Miłosz apartment (see p. 47).

There will also be culinary accents: Shabbat dinners at Cheder, a special picnic at the Vistula Boulevards near the Pauline Church (23 June) and culinary workshops, focusing on dishes inspired by the Bible, led by Moshe Basson – head chef at one of Jerusalem and Israel’s finest restaurants Eucalyptus (25 and 26 June).

A symphony of diversity

As always, concerts form the core of the festival programme. Israeli musicians present elements which shaped and continue to shape the musical landscape of Eretz Israel, from sacral singing and classical music to dazzling projects by up-and-coming artists. Maestro David Krakauer is joined by the Cracovian Pan Ton Quartet for a concert held at the Tempel Synagogue at noon on 24 June. They perform the world premiere of Dybbuk commissioned by the Jewish Culture Festival from Wlad Marhulets, composer with Polish, Belarusian and Jewish roots. On Sunday evening, the Tempel Synagogue resounds with cantors: the concert Those Who Trust in the Lord Are Like Mount Zion brings together leading young singers Shlomo Seletzki, Yaakov Lemmer and Yaakov’s brother Sholem Lemmer hailed as the best musician of the last decade. In the days that follow, we will hear the acclaimed Jerusalem String Quartet (26 June) and the Kutiman Orchestra, described as “architects of the psychedelic orbit of funk” (27 June). On 29 June, we will hear the phenomenal Jerusalem Orchestra East-West joined by the cantors Emil Zrihan and Moshe Louk.

The Proxima Nowy Theatre is taken over by women. The Tel Aviv artist Noga Erez takes us on a journey to an unsettling world of trance music filled with distinctive synths (26 June), while Victoria Hanna presents Aramaic rap in which she skilfully converts the Hebrew alphabet into unusual contemporary music (27 June).

The festival also presents the latest electronica from the Jerusalem musician Yudko (24 June, Hevre) and the Tel Aviv DJ Omri Smadar (26 June, Alchemia), Afro jazz from Selfie Ziesling (28 June, Alchemia) and music of Ethiopian Jews in modern arrangements by Abatte Barihun (27 June, Alchemia). The musical exploration of Israel culminates with a concert by the queer-pop group Young Yosef (1 July, Cheder).

We will also hear music from other famous “Zions”. Frank London’s joint project with Eleanor Reissa explores the Yiddish side of New York (25 June, Tempel Synagogue). The Sejny Theatre Klezmer Orchestra is joined by David Krakauer, Frank London and Michael Alpert to present spiritual music on the Polish/Jewish boundaries (28 June, Tempel Synagogue). The Little Dancing Orchestra performs hits by Jewish composers from interwar Warsaw (25 June, Hevre), while the “last Galician klezmer” Leopold Kozłowski and friends present classic and contemporary Yiddish songs (1 July). The programme also includes night-time jam sessions at Alchemia and cult DJ parties on the Vistula Barge hosted by Teder from Tel Aviv.

The musical culmination of the 28th Jewish Culture Festival is the traditional Shalom on Szeroka Street on 30 June. Stars of Jewish music from the world over include the acclaimed Młynarski – Masecki Jazz Band performing jazz from interwar Poland.

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Scattered all over the globe, Jews have been dreaming of their own homeland for two thousand years. The Jewish Culture Festival follows this dream to create a space of peace, mutual respect and love in Kraków’s Kazimierz – a district which served as a proxy Zion for many Polish Jews. Let’s meet there to find our own promised land!

(Justyna Skalska, "Karnet" magazine)