Fundacja Galicia Jewish Heritage Institute

Papercutting is an artistic technique found in many cultures, including Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian. It involves creating intricate images by removing specific sections of a folded sheet of paper using scissors or a knife. The moment a finished work unfolds is like opening a door leading to new meanings, to unexpected associations. Help us create an exhibition of unique contemporary papercuts! As the Galicia Jewish Museum, we plan to present in 2026 a first-of-its-kind temporary exhibition featuring works by Anna Wencel, one of the most talented and original contemporary Polish papercutters. She creatively transforms and develops themes known from traditional Jewish and Polish papercutting , creating contemporary compositions in her own style. The exhibition will subtly combine artistic and educational dimensions – it will serve as a canvas for stories about papercutting, symbols and their diverse meanings, and selected themes at the intersection of cultures, simultaneously demonstrating the vast possibilities, but also the numerous limitations, of this technique. Works will be presented in various formats and on diverse themes – from motifs characteristic of Jewish papercuts, through references to Polish and Ukrainian folk patterns, to realistic works and abstract compositions. The exhibition will serve as our main program event in 2026 followed by educational and cultural programs. Its opening will take place during the 35th Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków, in the first week of July 2026 and will be displayed at our Museum until February 2027. But to do all that, we need your help . Your donation today makes it possible for the wide audience from across Poland and beyond to meet with this artistic and educational Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian heritage this year in Krakow!