The Collections of Ryszard Z. Janiak

The full title of this temporary exhibition in the Warsaw's Royal Castle is: "A passion for collecting. The Collections of Ryszard Z. Janiak". This contemporary art, history and culture buff has amassed 800 items and visitors are invited to ogle at everything from painting and handicrafts to Persian firearms and suits of Samurai armour. There are some real treasures here to be discovered if you're in Warsaw from late March onwards...

when - Until 24th June
where - The Royal Castle, Plac Zamkowy 4
more info - click here

"Full Palate" Exhibit - Jan Opalinski

Jan Opalinski is mainly a painter and graphic designer. In his works, the main subject is woman - the woman's psyche drawn on canvas as a metaphor and allusion for a more universal subject. Though his focus may seem one-sided - let's face it, the guy's a bit girl-crazy - through the female form Opalinski touches on deeper subjects in his art.

when - Until 5th June
where - Galeria Sztuki Katarzyny Napiorkowskiej, Rynek Starego Miasta 19/21
more info - click here

Placebo Concert

In the midst of a monstrous world tour in support of their latest LP, Meds, avidly androgynous British alt-rockers Placebo are bringing their popular act to Warsaw. Tickets cost 220 PLN for VIP, 120 PLN for seats and 99 PLN for standing room only, and doors open at 6 pm. The supporting band will be Evaline.

when - 1st June
where - Torwar, ul. Lazienkowska 6a
more info - click here

Exhibit: Bill Viola

A solo exhibition by Bill Viola will be the feature for several months at the Zacheta National Art Gallery. For the first time in Poland, the work of this outstanding artist and pioneer of video art will be shown. Viola played a major role in the recognition of video as a new form of artistic expression and in the development of this medium. Viola's experimental films and video-installations are famous for engaging viewers on every level - intellectual, emotional, and perceptual. His images conjure places and emotions that are at once foreign yet completely recognizable, inspired by the artist's travel, poetry and philosophy, religions, and other artistic mediums. But really, there's nothing that can be written that will truly convey the feeling of experiencing one of Viola's exhibitions - you just have to see for yourself.

when - Until 1st July
where - Zacheta National Art Gallery, Pl. Malachowskiego 3
more info - click here

Museum for Children

On Sunday the 3rd of June starting at noon the National Museum in Warsaw will welcome all youngsters from ages 5 to 105 for a special program just for kids. Children will be able to design posters "just like Alfons Mucha," learn the secrets of the mummies, try to read hieroglyphics, and meet the darling young heroes of the paintings of Matejki, Mehoffer, Wyspianski and Wojtkiewicz. Children under 14 get in free!

when - 3rd June
where - National Museum, al. Jerozolimskie 3
more info - click here

Exhibit: The Polish Tourism Poster

The Wilanow Poster Museum invites you to go back in time, when Poland wasn't overrun with stag groups and weekenders, and the government commissioned top artists and graphic designers from Poland to design posters that would encourage tourism to their country. Now, over 230 posters made between the years 1946 and 1991, featuring slogans and artwork to encourage visitors to Poland's countryside as well as its cities, are on display until the 30th of June in the museum's main hall.

when - Until 30th June
where - Muzeum Plakatu w Wilanowie, Ul. Potockiego 10/16
more info - click here

XVI Park Fest

The next rendition of Park Fest will take place on Thursday, June 7th. Despite the misleading name, the festival has little to do with the great outdoors, and more to do with drinks and music in the great indoors of a dank club - but who could complain about that? The club is called Park (hence the name) and the festival will feature performances by three Polish bands: Brown, Butelka, and Kabanos. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the music starts at 7 p.m., with tickets costing a mere 10 PLN.

when - 7th June
where - Park Club, al. Niepodlegloœci 196
more info - click here

Moving Closer: International New Media Festival

The Moving Closer festival is a festival of new media, which involves the usage of known and unknown media as a means of achieving a new quality in artistic form and content. The festival aims to popularize the usage of media in art and in general to widen the audience of contemporary art. Throughout the festival, renowned contemporary and independent music performers and composers, along with audiovisual art creators, will be using available technologies in an innovative way, expanding the traditional definitions of art and music. The program includes both Polish and foreign artists, from Europe to as far away as China and Japan, and there will be a special focus throughout the event on the influence of Asian art in Europe. Through various interactive performances and panels, the festival organizers hope to create a platform for a dialogue with other European Union countries, and to give Polish artists a chance to be recognized by a wider audience. Events on the 8th, 9th, 29th, and 30th of June will take place at the Centrum Artystyczne Fabryka Trzciny on ul. Otwocka 14, while events on the 22nd and 23rd of June will take place on the open-air Stage on Cypel Czerniakowski, Vistula River Bank.

when - 8th until 30th June
where - Fabryka Trzciny, ul. Otwocka 14
more info - click here

Pzoty 2007

If you've got little ones in tow, they might enjoy a two day event for children in the industrial interior of the Polish Optical Institute (Polskie Zaklady Optyczne). Among the list of activities planned to keep the little ones busy (and big kids entertained as well) is a "Magical Labyrinth," a playground and play house, and several exhibits prepared especially for children by renowned artists such as Roma Roman, Mirella von Chrupek, Monika Powalisz, Supermarket theatre group, Patryk Zakrocki and Macio Moretti and many others. The Pzoty event for children will take place on the weekend of 9th and 10th June, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m., and entrance is 5 PLN.

when - 9th and 10th June
where - Polskie Zaklady Optyczne, ul. Grochowska 316/320
more info - click here

Gotan Project

The only concert in Poland on the Gotan Project's tour supporting their new album, "Lunatico," will take place in the Congressional Hall of the Palace of Culture and Science. The French band fuses Argentinian tango, dub and jazz into the freshest electronic music on the continent.

when - 12th June
where - Sala Kongresowa, pl. Defilad 1
more info - click here

Promotion of the Alternative Scene

June brings the third edition of the Promotion of the Alternative (Theatre) Scene ("Alternatywnej Sceny Promocyjnej"), organized by the Office Box Association and Montownia Artistic Centre. Montownia will host shows by 10 independent theatre groups from Poland, often tied to the alternative scene. The festival begins on the 12th of June at 7 p.m. with the play "Teczki" by the 8th Day Theatre from Poznan. The whole festival will last through the 15th of August, with 2-3 shows per month. Performances are in Polish, and tickets for each show are 25 PLN (15 PLN discounted).

when - 12th June until 15th August
where - Montownia Artistic Centre, ul. Konopnickiej 6
more info - click here

"Tastes of Warsaw" Culinary Festival

The "Tastes of Warsaw" Festival is designed to promote the many excellent restaurants in Warsaw. Held in the gigantic Pole Mokotowskie park grounds, the festival is an opportunity to sample dishes from the city's best restaurants for a tiny price - 6-12 PLN. The goal of the organizers to to promote eating out in the city, a trend that's become fairly popular but has not reached the levels of eating out in Western European countries yet. Admission to the festival is free.

when - 16th and 17th June
where - Pole Mokotowskie Grounds
more info - click here

A Sunday with Alfons Mucha

On Sunday June 17th starting at noon the National Museum of Warsaw invites you to spend a Sunday with Czech artist Alfons Mucha. The exhibition of Mucha's works has been displayed since the 18th of May and will continue to be shown until the end of July, but this special event encourages the audience to not just be a passive observer, but to really get to know the master of Art Nouveau and his works. The day will start with a contest titled "Alfons Mucha and His Epoch," followed by a living painting of "Muse in Flowers," and throughout the day there will be several activities for children ages 5 to 15. At 3:30 the Czech film "King of Kings", written by Mucha's son, will be shown (Czech with Polish subtitles, free admission). The other activities require a ticket to the exhibition.

when - 17th June
where - National Museum, al. Jerozolimskie 3
more info - click here

Tori Amos Live in Warsaw

Famous American singer-songwriting star Tori Amos will grace the Congressional Hall of the Palace of Culture and Science with her presence this June! The piano-tickling rock goddess will be playing her only Polish concert in Warsaw to support her 2006 career-spanning box set titled "A Piano: The Collection." Tickets start at 143 PLN.

when - 19th June
where - Sala Kongresowa, pl. Defilad 1
more info - click here

Opera: "Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy"

The grandest theatre of them all, Warsaw's Grand Theatre, presents an opera in four acts based on the play by Witold Gombrowicz, one of Poland's most gifted (and amusing) literary sons. The opera, conducted by Andrzej Straszynski, tells the tragicomic tale of Yvonne, an ugly and faint-hearted girl who becomes the fiancee of a prince who's actually disgusted with her. Upon arriving at the royal court, Yvonne's deficiencies begin to reveal those of those around her, and finally the royal court is reduced to madness and murderous rage. The opera is showing on the 19th of June at 7 p.m. in the Moniuszko Auditorium.

when - 19th June
where - Grand Theatre, pl. Teatralny 1
more info - click here

Opera: "The Barber of Seville"

Warsaw's Grand Theatre presents Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," a comic opera in two acts in the original Italian. The joint production features a collaboration with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence, with an orchestra conducted by American Will Crutchfield. This special showing marks the start of the National Opera's commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the death of Karol Kurpiński, who was the National Opera's first music director and opened the Grand Theatre in 1833 with a production of Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and his own work "Zabawa tancerska" ("Dancing Fun"). The day of the premiere will be the 31st of May, and will also be the opening day of the exhibition "Kurpiński - Rossini" at Theatre Museum (open until the end of September). The opera will again take place on the 21st of June at 7 p.m. in the Moniuszko Auditorium.

when - 21st June
where - Grand Theatre, pl. Teatralny 1
more info - click here

Concert: Junior Boys

Canadian gods of indie dance music Junior Boys will be playing in Poland for the first time. The band's (or duo's we should say to be more accurate) drum machine beats and subtle synths are matched by gentle vocals and some of the most interesting melodies to come out of the independent electronic music scene. Support for Junior Boys will be Polish band Out of Tune. Tickets are 39 PLN pre-sale, and 45 PLN at the door - but judging from their concerts in the UK and Canada, there's a good chance of them selling out quite quickly. Doors open at 7 p.m.

when - 22nd June
where - CDQ, ul. Burakowska 12
more info - click here

Concert: Antony & The Johnsons

Antony & The Johnsons, hailing from New York City, is the brainchild of of Antony, a talented musician and composer who has performed with such diverse figures as Bjork, Lou Reed, Nico Muhly and others. While he's no stranger to Poland, visiting Wroclaw earlier this year, this will be his only Polish concert on his current European tour, so be sure to check out this creator of some of the most beautiful music coming out of America today. Tickets start at 150 PLN, and the sweet spots in the Congressional Hall will go for as much as 210 PLN. Concert starts at 8 p.m.

when - 26th June
where - Sala Kongresowa, pl. Defilad 1
more info - click here

Play: "The Good Thief"

Montownia Theatre presents a production of "The Good Thief" by Irish playwrite Conor McPherson. "The Good Thief" has won the Stewart Parker Award, and the writer has won numerous other awards and his plays have been staged internationally. First staged in 1994, "The Good Thief" weaves a gripping tale full of suspense, humour, and moments of quiet reflection, all combined with the wit and intelligence that makes McPherson such a compelling writer. The unnamed narrator will be played by actor, director, and teacher John Weisgerber, a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. This one man show is an intimate look into the thoughts and feelings of a man who's job it is to scare and intimidate others - not to be missed. Performances take place on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of June.

when - 28th until 30th June
where - Montownia, ul. Marii Konopnickiej 6
more info - click here

7th Festival of Musical Gardens

The Festival of Musical Gardens will take place for the seventh time beginning on the 30th of June and encompassing thirty days of film screenings, concerts, and meetings with representatives from the world of culture and music. All of the events will take place at the Royal Castle, and the entrance to each one is free! Be sure to check the festival's website for a full schedule of what's happening during the month.

when - 30th June until 30th July
where - Royal Castle, Plac Zamkowy 4
more info - click here

XIII International Summer Jazz Festival in the Old Town

The International Summer Jazz Festival in the Old Town will take place for the eighth time in, you guessed it, the Old Town. Each Saturday at 7 p.m. from the end of June until the end of August thousands of jazz fans will gather in the Old Town to catch a great show. Overall, the festival attracts some 50 thousands jazz enthusiasts each summer. The festival is open to the public and aims to present the leading jazz artists of today in all styles of the genre. A highlight of the festival will be a performance by the David Murray Quartet from the USA. Other performers include Dino Saluzzi, Pierre Blanchard, Dave Liebman, Leszek Mozdzer, Paul Brody, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Dean Brown, The Avishai Cohen, and John Taylor, amongst many other stars.

when - 30th June until 25th August
where - Old Town
more info - click here