Who remembers Nowa Huta as the unwanted younger sister of Krakow, the first communist city built as a counterweight to the conservative former capital of Poland? Today, the story of Nowa Huta incorporated into Krakow is connected with the creation of an ideal city, a utopia or an Ithaca to which we return with tenderness and hope for a good future. The Łaźnia Nowa Theatre invented and run by Bartosz Szydłowski, a Nowa Huta resident by birth, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and the House of Utopia run by Małgorzata Szydłowska, which is closely linked to Łaźnia, play a great role in creating the new myth of Nowa Huta. During this summer season, the indefatigable bathhouse myth-makers propose a multifaceted project with the poetic name ‘Nowa Huta Odyssey’. ‘We invite you to take a journey through the places and non-places of Nowa Huta. Together we will immerse ourselves in its history and, above all, the energy it gives today. We will explore and inspire, discover and experience, 'practise co-existence' and restore memory. Our guides will be artists and activists carrying out original projects in the space,’ says Szydłowska, the curator of the Odyssey. The festival began in July with the opening of Miłosz Łuczyński's studio-gallery in the former Jubilatka restaurant. Here, together with Sławomir Shuty, the artist meets the inhabitants of Nowa Huta and records their stories. The Breathing Library, a series of breathing and listening workshops at various locations in the district, promises to be interesting. There will also be Deep Listening Concerts with the subtitle Long Ears of the Sage – and this is not about the hero of Łaźnia Nowa’s recent premiere but about listening to Far Eastern philosophers during ambient concerts and sound workshops. Lovers of the Tenth Muse will be delighted by Saturday's Summer Cinema on the Roof of the Utopia House, while fans of stories and steamy drinks will be delighted by culinary-performance meetings TheTea Jubilarian, in which seven Nowa Huta activists will brew original teas and infusions for participants during an unhurried conversation.
In the photo: Deep Listening Concerts 2023, Rafał Mazur, photo by Artur Rakowski
