MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, in the Malopolska region, has digitised its priceless collections of photographic art. This was achieved through a project backed by EU funding. In addition to preserving these valuable works forever, the process allows the museum to use its resources for the benefit of e-culture and e-education programmes. Some of the works have been shown in the exhibitions: Mikołaj Smoczyński: Private Exhibition (2019–2020) and Marian Eile: Artist and Editor (2020–2021). The collections chosen for digitisation have previously been unpublished and represent an important chapter in the history of photography.
- 10 December 2020
“The project enabled the digitisation of negatives and diapositives from the MOCAK archive from the collections of artists including Marian Eli, Władysław Hasior, Mieczysław Porębski and Mikołaj Smoczyński. This made it possible to display previously unknown works by these artists, enriching our knowledge about them.”
The digitisation process covered objects with a high documentary, historic and iconographic value. Also, due to the materials with which they were made, many of the photographs had become unstable, fragile and susceptible to chemical changes. The project thus helped to preserve them for generations to come. Digitisation covered works by Mikołaj Smoczyński, Marian Eile, Władysław Hasior, Mieczysław Porębski and other artists from the MOCAK collection, which are often the only document of preservation and the only trace of the original artwork.
“Museums that want to move with the times today must invest in digitizing their collections,” says Łukasz Smółka, Deputy Marshal of the Malopolska Region.
“The necessity to be on-line in the modern digital world is perfectly understood by institutions in the Malopolska region and they are using the available EU funding effectively to achieve this goal,” he says.
Research and education
MOCAK has been opened since 2010 and showcases the latest international art. The museum conducts research projects and generates publications about contemporary art. Its aim is to present the art of the past two decades in the context of the post-war avant-garde and conceptual art movements. Additionally, displays, exhibitions and educational work are centred around explaining the rationale for creating art and its relationship with everyday life and society.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment and EU funding Total investment for the project “Digitisation of the priceless photographic collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow MOCAK for e-culture and e-education” is EUR 183 865, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 127 500 through the “Małopolskie Voivodeship 2014-2020” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Digitalisation”.