E-archiving of the Folk Theatre - MBC

The Folk Theatre is carrying out the task of “e-archiving of the Folk Theatre – digitisation and online access of the unique collection of the Theatre Archive” co-financed under the Digital Culture Program from the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, from the Fund for the Promotion of Culture and from the funds of the Municipality of Krakow.

The subject of the project is the digitisation and development of a unique resource of the artistic Archive of the Folk Theatre and its online accessibility to a wide range of participants of e-culture. The collection presents the path of artistic development of the Theatre and its associated outstanding artists (including directors: Krystyna Skuszanka, Jerzy Krasowski, Waldemar Krygier; stage designers: Józef Szajna, Krystyna Zachwatowicz, Tadeusz Kantor; actors: Franciszek Pieczka, Witold Pyrkosz, Grażyna Barszczewska, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Jerzy Stuhr). The archive includes, among others, a unique documentation of performances from the time when the people’s Theatre was – as Sławomir Mrożek wrote in relation to its opening – “the first socialist stage in the first socialist city”. The collection also includes unusual theatrical programs with stage design and original literary texts from the times of the Polish people’s Republic, billboards and posters for performances, costume designs and photographs by Wojciech Plewiński and Zbigniew Łagocki - classics of theatre photography.

The resource, being an important part of the history of Polish theatre, is the subject of constant research and scientific interests, and thanks to the implementation of the project will become part of a compendium of knowledge available to the public. An interdisciplinary task involving digitisation with the necessary conservation work, the development, sharing and re-use of cultural heritage resources.