‘Thank God for Rzeszów, this wonderful Polish city,’ said Wojciech Kilar, a composer of classical and film music, who contributed the scores for dozens of movies, most notably Roman Polanski’s The Pianist and Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula.
It was in Rzeszów that he wrote his first piece of music and was told he should become a composer. Indeed, the cultural melting pot of this region has produced remarkable artistic personalities, such as Zdzisław Beksiński, Józef Szajna, Julian Przyboś, to name just a few. Their legacy is highly valued in Poland.
An art collection which attracts visitors from all over the world is located in the Historical Museum in Sanok. The legendary visual artist Zdzisław Beksiński left 600 works to his hometown. Another fascinating collection, the Baroque art gallery of the Dąmbski family in the Regional Museum in Rzeszów presents works by many European artists. From here you can set off for a tour of the city which will lead you to the monumental installation Passage 2001 by Józef Szajna, a renowned avant-garde theatre director and graphic artist who was born in Rzeszów. There is no place in the world where three distinguished theatre reformers were born more or less at the same time. Meanwhile, Podkarpackie region was the birthplace of two more experimental theatre directors, Jerzy Grotowski and Tadeusz Kantor. The stage of the local theatre in Rzeszów witnessed a debut of Kazimierz Dejmek, later renowned theatre director. In 1965 a club located nearby saw the first concert of Tadeusz Nalepa with his band called Blackout. The father of Polish blues-rock, in the form of a bronze sculpture, looks as if he was walking along 3 Maja Street; everyone wants to get a selfie with him. If you stay in the Old Town a little longer you may hear the bugle call from the Town Hall tower. It was written for the city by another renowned Polish musician born in Rzeszów, Tomasz Stańko, remembered as an excellent trumpeter and jazz composer.
You will encounter art and artists wherever you go, from Jarosław famous for its School of Fine Arts, to the Folk University and Gallery in Wola Sękowa. Everyone can feel like an artist at the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola, where visitors can experiment on interactive easels in the Gallery of paintings by Alfons Karpiński. And this is just the beginning of the adventure.
The Podkarpackie region inspires for creativity. Come and see it for yourself…