Barbara and Stanisław Ptak Museum

The Barbara and Stanisław Ptak Museum is a permanent exhibition in the artists' former flat, at Mikołaja Kopernika 11 in Katowice. Barbara Ptak was a stage and costume designer, and her husband Stanisław Ptak an actor and singer. The exhibition belongs to the Theatre and Film Department of the Katowice History Museum.

The flat as an exhibition

Visitors see a two-level apartment with an internal staircase, preserved in its original form. The exhibition shows the creative path of Stanisław Ptak: photographs of his stage roles, costumes from the production of “Man of La Mancha”, posters and documentation of performances. It is complemented by memorabilia and the prizes and distinctions he received. The exhibition area is 240 square metres.

Alongside the permanent exhibition runs the “Galeria pod 11”, a space for temporary exhibitions, film screenings, small-scale performances and concerts, and academic sessions. The museum also holds the “Friends of Barbara and Stanisław” meetings here. The department also collects material on the work of Konrad Swinarski and Ewa Starowieyska, as well as theatre and film collections connected with Katowice.

The Manowski tenement house

The building was designed in the 1920s by the architect and builder Franciszek Manowski. At the end of the decade it passed into the hands of the merchant Józef Przybyła and was put into use at the end of 1930. Before 1945 the first and second floors formed a single flat for the family of the general director of the “Pokój” steelworks. On the first floor was a drawing room with a dining room, on the upper level private rooms and a large hall with a neo-Renaissance ceiling of plaster coffers imitating wood. Both levels were joined by a staircase with a stained-glass window.

After 1945 the flat was divided by a wall. In July 2011 the museum carried out a renovation that joined the two flats again and restored the original layout. The exhibition was opened to visitors on 21 November 2011.

Nearby

The exhibition is a branch of the Katowice History Museum, whose main seat is about 900 metres away. Not far away stands the Cathedral of Christ the King, and for a good film it is worth going to the Rialto Cinema-Theatre.

Practical information

• Address: M. Kopernika 11, 40-064 Katowice.
• The museum gives directions: about 5 minutes on foot from the PKP railway station, exiting on the Andrzeja Square side. By bus to the “Katowice Kopernika Dworzec” stop.
• Opening hours and rules of entry can be found on mhk.katowice.pl in the tab of the Theatre and Film Department.