About us

After the Holocaust and decades of repression under Communism, Jewish life in Poland is undergoing a revival. That revival is complicated—as fractious as it is full of promise, as tangled as it is exciting. Cut off from its pre-war heritage, contemporary Jewish culture in Poland faces a crisis: either replicate American or Israeli Jewishness or attempt to resurrect the yiddishkeit of the past. FestivALT offers an alternative pathway, one that embraces diverse representations of Jewishness, emphasizes nuanced and critical perspectives, and focuses on the here and now. Joined by emerging and established artists from Poland and around the world, FestivALT has built an inclusive platform for bold, experimental work that celebrates complexity, challenges assumptions, and welcomes debate.

FestivALT Krakow

With its past unreconciled to its present, Jewish renewal in Kraków is caught between the legacies of the Holocaust and Communist repression, as well as the current tides of tourism and gentrification. FestivALT Krakow operates at the intersection of these forces, presenting bold and experimental art appropriate to the complications of Jewish Krakow. Combining theater, visual art, site-specific performance, activist intervention, and community conversation, FestivALT brings wit, humor, and a bit of chutzpah to the complexities of contemporary Jewish Poland. We invite emerging and established artists from Poland and around the world to share original and exciting work with Kraków audiences.

Email us at info@festivalt.com

Our 2020 season is realized in cooperation with Allianz Kulturstiftung and co-financed by the Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund and Asylum Arts.

Several components are also co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland through the competition “Public Diplomacy 2020—A New Dimension.”

Memory Score, Lucky Jew 2020 edition and volunteer program is made possible thanks to funding from the City of Krakow.

Medicinal Plants of Płaszów walks are co-financed by the Jewish Historical Institute and NadaYE Foundation.

The Ethographic Museum Engagement is possible thanks to the Partnership Grant by the Concordia University of Montreal.

We are grateful for the ongoing support of Kasia and Bart of Hummus Amamamusi.

The season is realised in partnership with FoJam, Asylum Arts and the Koffler Centre for the Arts.

Thank you also to our private funders: Prophets (Elizabeth Szancer, Michelle Ores i Charles Schorin), Angels (Jed Willard & Nina Andersonn, Marcy & Bennett Grau, Beth Caunitz, Ellen Moskowitz, Esther Fein, Mariela Melamed) and Friends of FestivALT (Deborah Korzenik, Karen Kolodny, Rachel Herschman, Foster Padway, Clara Markowicz, Judy Katz and Oren Rudavsky, Cheryl Lehman, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Ellen Heuman & Ronald Gutman, Erica Lehrer, Jeffrey Yoskowitz, Jacob Karlin).

If you’d like to become our Prophet, Angel, Friend or … Messiah, please consder donating.

our team

magda rubenfeld koralewska

co-director

Magda is a designer, social entrepreneur, and activist (Kraków/Warsaw)

michael rubenfeld

co-director

Michael is a performance maker, cultural producer, playwright, and actor
(Kraków/Toronto)