Night of Culture, East of Culture – Different Sounds, Carnaval Sztukmistrzów and Re:tradition – The Jagiellonian Fair are four of Lublin’s largest summer festivals. These festivals offer visitors a chance to experience Lublin in an entirely new way, with a vibrant and exciting atmosphere like no other. Workshops of Culture are already hard at work on this year’s editions, and here are their dates! Don’t forget to put them on your calendars! And what better way to celebrate the European Youth Capital than with these amazing festivals? Make sure to be part of the experience!
Lublin is the first city in Poland to become the European Youth Capital. The city was chosen by the international jury as the place to show Europe values that are significant to youth, to show their activities, and to direct attention to youth in all kinds of events. The European Youth Capital is a title awarded by the European Youth Forum for a period of one year. It’s designed to empower young people, boost their participation in decision-making and strengthen European identity in our cities. Additionally, it brings the energy and activity of youth to Lublin as a way to support the locals. It also promotes broadly understood young culture and youth activity on many levels. This means that this year’s festivals organised by Workshops of Culture will focus on youth.
Grzegorz Rzepecki, the director of Workshops of Culture, says, Every year, around a hundred young, active volunteers help with the organisation of the largest festivals in Lublin. Through Night of Culture, we support emerging artists and culture managers by providing them with an opportunity to experiment with art installations in the city space. In light of the fact that Lublin has been named the European Youth Capital this year, we encourage young people to take a leading role in cultural activities. As such, the festivals organised by Workshops of Culture are the perfect opportunity.
The festival dates for 2023 are below.
We are pleased to announce the dates of Workshops of Culture’s festivals for 2023. Night of Culture will take place on 3-4 June and East of Culture – Different Sounds will run between 6-9 July. Carnaval Sztukmistrzów will take over the city from 27-30 July, and Re:tradition – The Jagiellonian Fair will run from 18-20 August. We have already booked good weather, explains Aleksandra Stefanek from Workshops of Culture. So mark your calendars and get ready for an unforgettable summer in 2023!
Night of Culture
Can you imagine that for one night a forgotten alley in Lublin transforms into the most romantic corner of Europe, rivalling Barcelona, Venice, or Paris? Should concerts still be held on stages when we can hold them on the walls of historic houses or rooftops? Why go to the cinema when we can watch films under the stars?
Night of Culture (NoC) is a festival of endless surprises. Extraordinary things happen. It’s even possible to see places that disappeared from Lublin’s maps years ago. Visitors are spoilt for choice as there are hundreds of things to see and do, but time is limited. After all, it’s only one night.
Art revives forgotten or unknown places. Gates become light installations, squares and plazas turn into theatrical stages. Gateways become light installations, squares and plazas turn into stages, and the alleys of the Old Town surprise even their most regular visitors. Museums, galleries, and theatres stay open late. The festival’s programme consists of projects submitted by Lublin’s residents and friends, and festival productions created by Workshops of Culture in Lublin. The young are a special part of both categories this year.
3 / 4 June 2023
Old Town in Lublin
Free admission
East of Culture – Different Sounds
East of Culture – Different Sounds is a festival that offers an opportunity to experience music transcending different genres, traditions, and cultural influences. As one of Poland’s most inspiring and explorative music events, it offers us the opportunity to hear both world-class artists and mind-blowing rising stars in the centre of Lublin. This festival presents artists who continue to be inspired and challenged by music. Artists and the public will enjoy a unique journey through East of Culture – Different Sounds, with stages that blend a variety of people, genres, and styles.
The festival’s organisers continue to be inspired by the concept of “east of culture”, or the rise of eastern culture, expressed in the festival’s name and its mission to attract the most captivating artists from countries like Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and Armenia to Lublin to make it easier for them to enter western markets.
There’s more to Different Sounds than just music. The festival’s rich and varied programme covers a wide range of topics. There’s something for everyone, including fans of sophisticated cinema, literature, and contemporary art. Young people can participate in “Little Different Sounds”, a series of exciting educational workshops designed just for them.
6-9 July 2023
Błonia near the Castle
Free admission
Carnaval Sztukmistrzów
Carnaval Sztukmistrzów is a festival that features performances by world-class circus stars, including street shows, theatre and circus acts, workshops, and fire shows. During the event, renowned international groups and troupes present the art of new circus. Together with the artists, the audience embarks on a unique journey through the world of extraordinary phenomena. Streets become stages, and artists and spectators are their actors. Boundaries disappear during this time
Street performers and masters of circus arts from all over the world come to Lublin to present breathtaking shows. It’s the most performatively diverse festival in the country, a unique and inspiring bazaar of the arts. Lublin’s Carnaval offers the best of contemporary circus, clowning, acrobatics, and busking from around the world.
An integral part of Carnaval Sztukmistrzów is Urban Highline Festival, known as the world’s largest and oldest highline event. It combines an integral element of the city’s identity – the iconic Magician of Lublin – with the emerging discipline of slacklining.
All attractions are located in the centre of the city and its historic quarter. Most events are free and open as they take place in the streets, squares, and plazas of the Old Town. Some events have a fee and can only be attended under the Big Top or in a theatre. Every year, several dozen young volunteers work on the festival, helping to animate the cultural life of the city.
27-30 July 2023
Old Town in Lublin
Free admission
Re:tradition – The Jagiellonian Fair
Re:tradition is a festival of traditional music, culture, and art, held in Lublin’s Old Town. It offers visitors the chance to interact with musicians, artisans, and sociocultural animators who approach the continuation of tradition with full awareness, responsibility, and sensitivity. The festival features not only concerts, dance parties and a folk crafts fair, but also talks, exhibitions, art installations, and workshops (including singing, instrument playing and craft workshops), film screenings, stage performances and traditional games and activities for children.
The meticulously constructed programme of the event and the carefully selected artists – both those performing on stage as well as those presenting their products in the streets of Old Town – allow the public to get acquainted with many aspects of traditional culture – both in its authentic, pure forms as well as in those enriched with folk-inspired contemporary artistic elements.
Re:tradition is the response of the contemporary addressee, observer, as well as the creator of culture and art to our heritage, from which we so abundantly draw. The festival connects the past with the present – continuing the work of our ancestors, and using it as a way for us to forge our own paths and means of expression.
This festival invites everyone to take part in a journey through the most intriguing aspects of traditional culture. Folk music, arts and crafts belong not only to experienced master artisans, but also to the young who want to adopt the traditions of the past into their own, contemporary language. Hence, the festival is filled with musicians and artisans who represent the younger generations yet continue the legacy of the older generations with great awareness and passion.
18-20 August 2023
Old Town in Lublin
Free admission
Follow Workshops of Culture on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date. Information about the artists and the programmes will be posted soon. Look forward to the first details about the 17th Night of Culture.
This year, the festivals are part of the European Youth Capital