Visitors could enjoy numerous attractions – new temporary exhibitions, workshops and tastings. A record number of people took part in the event – more than 1,200.
The City History Department organized the exhibition “Where We Came From. Bolesławiec Settlers in the 1940s and 1950s”, which attracted enormous interest. It presented documents and photographs concerning individual groups of settlers: repatriates from Yugoslavia, Central Poland, the Eastern Borderlands, France, as well as newcomers from Siberia and Kazakhstan. The exhibition was complemented by furniture and household equipment used to arrange a residential interior. However, visitors were most interested in the reconstruction of a railway carriage with its equipment, which made it possible to see the conditions in which most Bolesławiec settlers travelled. A free catalogue accompanied the exhibition and was available to every visitor. The publication is still available at the City History Department.
The youngest visitors eagerly took part in a quiz with prizes, which allowed them to test their knowledge of dishes and vocabulary characteristic of settlers from particular regions. An additional attraction was the opportunity to try dishes from the cuisine of the Eastern Borderlands (including potato babka) and Yugoslav cuisine (including pita).
The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the Society of Lviv and Southeastern Borderlands Enthusiasts, the Association of Repatriates from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends, the Bolesławiec branch of the Siberian Association, a group of repatriates from France, Municipal Middle School No. 2 named after Poles Deported to Siberia, the Tomisław Open-Air Museum, the State Archive in Wrocław, Bolesławiec Branch, the Congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Bolesławiec, the Lusatian Museum in Zgorzelec, and many private individuals.
In the Ceramics Department, activities focused on the exhibition “A Journey to Japan”, from the collections of the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków. The exhibition included, among other things, ceramic bowls and vases used during tea ceremonies, as well as vessels for arranging ikebana. Traditional elements of Japanese clothing were also presented – kimonos and obi belts. The exhibition was complemented by photographs by Ze’ev Aleksandrowicz from his journey to Japan in 1934, drawings by Andrzej Wajda and woodcuts by Hiroshige Utagawa.
The free workshops attracted considerable interest; several hundred Bolesławiec residents, not only children, took part. Under the guidance of instructors, participants made origami figures, learned the secrets of Japanese calligraphy and tried their hand at furoshiki workshops, that is, decorative gift wrapping. Asian cuisine was also available for tasting during the Night of Museums.
Those who were unable to visit the Museum of Ceramics during the Night of Museums are warmly invited to see the exhibitions “Where We Came From. Bolesławiec Settlers in the 1940s and 1950s” and “A Journey to Japan. An Exhibition from the Collections of the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków” from Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and on Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The exhibitions will be open until the end of June.
Information from the Museum of Ceramics