Museums
a contemporary art gallery from 1949, with a collection and the Polish Poster Biennale
a gallery of painting, graphics, sculpture and unique glass, operating in Katowice since 1993
Museums
a theatre gallery in a tenement house from 1870 with set designs, puppets and an archive
Museums
ethnographic museum with souvenirs of Franciscan missionaries from several continents
Museums
bronze busts of artists who served Katowice, chosen in a vote by residents
Museums
the interior of a workers' flat, a laundry with a mangle and the Janów Group in the heart of Nikiszowiec
Katowice gallery of contemporary painting with roots in the independent scene of martial law
Museums
art and architecture gallery in a historic tenement house on Dyrekcyjna Street in Katowice
Painting in Katowice: contemporary art galleries showing canvases, prints and sculpture. Eight addresses for a rainy day, mostly in the centre.
Most galleries lie in Śródmieście, a short walk from one another, and a few outside the centre. The list covers places where paintings really hang, and others that link art with theatre, architecture or history. See also the general overview in Malarstwo and on the page Katowice.
For contemporary painting choose one of three galleries: BWA, Parnas or Fra Angelico. Each has worked for years, and all stand in Śródmieście.
The BWA Contemporary Art Gallery at aleja Korfantego 6 has run since 1949 in an exhibition pavilion. Its halls offer about 800 square metres of display space. The gallery keeps its own collection, a publishing house and the Polish Poster Biennale, and since 1994 it has been a city gallery. The Parnas gallery dates from 1993. It exhibits canvases, but also prints, sculptures and one-off art glass. The main seat is at ulica Kochanowskiego 10, with a branch in a high-rise at Chorzowska 50.
Next to the Cathedral of Christ the King, at ulica Jordana 39, the "Fra Angelico" gallery opened in 1986. Father Jerzy Myszor, then director of the Diocesan Museum, founded it, and it grew out of the "Gołębnik" gallery of 1983. Under martial law it hosted independent cultural initiatives. Today it presents contemporary painting.
Besides painting galleries the city has places that show other kinds of art. If you want to round off the outing, pick one of them, but remember that they hold few paintings.
The Ateneum Gallery at ulica 3 Maja 25 belongs to the Silesian Puppet and Actor Theatre. Since 2007 it has shown stage designs, puppets and photographs. The SARP Architecture Gallery in a historic tenement at ulica Dyrekcyjna 9 presents graphic art, drawing, installations and architecture exhibitions; it also runs the lecture series "Masters of Architecture". Check the current programme before you go.
In Nikiszowiec, at ulica Rymarska 4, the Magiel Gallery belongs to the Museum of Katowice History as one of its departments. Its displays tell of the daily life of a workers' family, of a laundry with a mangle, and of the Janów Group. In Panewniki, at ulica Związkowa 20, stands the Franciscan Missionary Museum where around two hundred ethnographic items brought by missionaries are kept; they come from three parts of the world.
In the open air there is the Artists' Gallery on Grunwaldzki Square in Koszutka. Since 2004 bronze busts of artists linked to Katowice have been placed there; the first two showed Zbigniew Cybulski and Karol Stryja.
Choose the BWA Gallery, Parnas or Fra Angelico. All lie in Śródmieście, so you can visit two or three in one afternoon.
The BWA pavilion at aleja Korfantego 6 offers roughly 800 square metres for displays.
Yes, the "Fra Angelico" gallery at ulica Jordana 39 stands right beside the Cathedral of Christ the King and shows contemporary painting.
No. The Artists' Gallery is a set of busts placed on Grunwaldzki Square, so in the rain choose the other places.
