“Andrzej Wajda. Etnograficzny remanent,” Ethnographic Museum in Krakow, 12th July – 31st October, 2008.

The name of Andrzej Wajda is usually associated with the honorary Oscar award for his numerous contributions to cinema and his famous films, such as: “Kanał,” “Ashes and Diamonds,” “The Wedding,” “The Promised Land,” “Man of Marble” – and this is just a beginning of his filmography. But there are very few who are aware of the director’s interest in ethnography and Polish folk art. This less popular face of Wajda is shown at the exhibition organized by the Cracovian Ethnographic Museum in “Esterka’s House” in 46 Krakowska Street.

Wajda’s adventure with ethnography started during his studies at the Fine Arts Academy in Krakow when he met a famous Polish ethnographer, professor Roman Reinfuss, who after the War tried to re-establish Cracovian Ethnographic Museum. Wajda as a student often earned some extra money helping Reinfuss in his field research of nearby villages where he prepared some sketches and assisted the professor. The contact with the old master resulted in two documentaries by Wajda: “Ceramics of Iłża” (1951) and “An Invitation to the Interior” (1978), which are ethnographic in nature. Wajda himself admitted that they were inspired by the person of professor Reinfuss.