7 October 2014 The Metamorphosis: Kafka in Images
The Metamorphosis: Kafka in Images On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death, the Conrad Festival will be enlarged with a special cycle of events devoted to the contemporary reception of the oeuvre created by a classic of interwar literature. Kafka is one of the most important German-speaking writers, all his life connected with Prague, which is striving for obtaining the “UNESCO’s City of Literature” title with official support of Krakow, holder of the title since 2013.
The cycle called The Metamorphosis: Kafka in Images (Przemiana: Kafka w Obrazach) can be understood as a creative extension of the thought of the Prague master of hyperbole to the territory of audio-visual media. The programme of events will encompass: an exhibition of graphic novels produced on the basis of The Castle and The Trial, a puppet show, a concert of a Czech music group “Kafka Band” and a series of film screenings. The Conrad Festival is the biggest literary event in Poland. Its 6th edition will be organised under the banner Shared Worlds. The Festival is co-produced by the City of Krakow, Krakow Festival Office and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation.
We encourage you to read the schedule of events!
From 22nd October to 13th November 2014, at the Arteteka of Wojewódzka Biblioteka Publiczna (Voivodeship Public Library in Krakow, 12 Rajska Street), you can visit the exhibition K: KafKa w KomiKsie (K: KafKa in the Comic BooK)
The exhibition K: KafKa w KomiKsie (K: KafKa in the Comic BooK) comprises drawings and other objects made on the basis of books and biography of Franz Kafka, the 90th anniversary of whose death falls this year. The exhibition will present excerpts from comics interpretations of The Trial, elaborated by the exhibition’s curator, David Zane Mairowitz, and by a French draughtswoman, Chantal Montpellier, as well as fragments from a comic book adaptation of The Castle, made by Mairowitz in cooperation with a Czech artist, Jaromir 99. A biographic tale about the author of Amerika has been illustrated, in turn, by a New York cartoonist, Robert Crumb.
The exhibition, prepared by Literaturhaus in Stuttgart, has been distinguished at this year’s European Design Awards. The vernissage of the exhibition will take place on 22nd October at 5 p.m. After the vernissage, you are invited to participate in the meeting with the curators of the exhibition: David Mairowitz and Małgorzata Żerwe.
More information to be found HERE
On 23rd October at 7 p.m., you are invited to the Małopolska Garden of Arts to watch Kafkas Schloss. Ein Machtspielchen (Kafka’s Castle. Little Games of Power), a play performed by the Thalias Kompagnons theatre from Nuremberg
The artists from the Thalias Kompagnons theatre in Nuremberg, staging selected excerpts from The Castle in the puppet theatre, have found an ideal form for the unfinished novel of the Prague author. Little wooden figures perfectly reflect Kafka’s characters and their constant fight against adversities, against multiple obstacles or with their own intrigues. In Zürau Aphorisms, Kafka advises not to go out, but to stay at the table and be obedient. In the Nuremberg performance, a kitchen table is the stage on which the story of K. is played out.
Ticket price: 25 PLN
Tickets available HERE
Kafka Band – 26th October, 7 p.m., in the Małopolska Garden of Arts
Kafka Band’s music is a sound narration of the story of K., the protagonist of The Castle. The band members are: a writer, Jaroslav Rudiš, a graphic artist and musician, Jaromir 99, as well as other excellent Czech artists. Their music, similarly to Kafka’s prose, is dark and dense, subtle, full of nuances, but at the same time sharp and austere. During the concert, the ambience will be enriched with visualisations prepared by VJ Clad, inspired by the drawings of Jaromir 99 from his Kafka comic book.
Ticket price: 25 PLN
Tickets available HERE
On 24th October at 9:30 p.m., you are invited to the Pod Baranami Cinema to the screening of The Castle, directed by Michael Haneke. On 25th October, the Cinema spectators will watch the short-length film series Franz Kafka - Zestaw Filmów krótkometrażowych.
Tickets (12 PLN and 15 PLN) are available at the Cinema: Kino pod Baranami
Organisers of The Metamorphosis cycle: Dom Norymberski, the Conrad Festival, the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation, the Krakow Festival Office
The project is co-financed by: The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation and Instytut Książki
Partners: Czeskie Centrum Kultury (Czech Cultural Centre) in Warsaw, Arteteka of the Voivodeship Public Library in Krakow, Literatur Haus Stuttgart, Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg, the Pod Baranami Cinema in Krakow.
The detailed programme of the Conrad Festival is available at: www.conradfestival.pl
