The nature of the intervention, which will be brief and impactful, will be revealed at the meeting point, but here is the history of the site of our action, 18 Meiselsa St.
The building at Meiselsa 18 was opened in 1896 as the prayer house of Congregation Chevra T’hilim, “The Society of Psalms,” and included a yeshivah. The building was designed by the well-known Polish-Jewish architect Nachman Kopald, in the Rundbogenstil (Round-arch style), a variety of Romanesque revival architecture popular in central Europe in the mid-nineteenth century. The interior contains the most important collection of surviving Jewish religious wall paintings in Kazimierz, including floral scenes, animals, and landscapes of Jerusalem, Rachel’s Tomb and other locations from biblical Israel. Among the calligraphed texts still visible is a fragment from Proverbs, “The human soul is God’s candle.” Membership in the Psalms Society “was no piece of cake; every day, each of the members would read the entire Book of Psalms, from cover to cover. They also paid a magid, or preacher, who would lecture them in this building every day after the evening prayer.” (Eli Valley, The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe)
On Thursday, June 29th at 2pm, we invite you to gather with us by the arch opposite Meiselsa 20 to initiate an artistic intervention. The action will occur across the street at Meiselsa 18 – a former prayer house and place of learning with rare original frescoes on the walls, now a cafe/bar that crudely commercializes the site’s Jewish history.
Our hope is to open a conversation about responsibility for our local Jewish heritage, a conversation that is both necessary and long overdue in Krakow.
Financed by
The 1st edition of FestivALT was realized thanks to the support of the following institutions: Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden, Asylum Arts, Trzecie Oko Gallery.
