Photography workshop at the Jewish cemetery

On 31.08.2023, at the Jewish cemetery in Mszana Dolna, a photography workshop was held. It was led by well-known photographer, artist and film producer, Agnieszka Traczewska. Since 2006 she has been creating photographs dedicated to Hasidim who come to Poland to visit the graves of Tzaddikim, as well as portraying the world of Orthodox Jewish communities in Israel and the US. Among other things, she has published three remarkable albums documenting the lives of Orthodox Jews: 'Returns.’, 'A rekindled word' and 'Kroke'.

We listened to the story of the Hassidic world, inaccessible to the average person, the path of a Goy woman to this world, the beginnings of her interest in Jewish themes, which led Agnieszka to close relations with people living in this rather hermetic world.... We got to know the work of this extraordinary photographer with her three aforementioned albums, which are basically almost no longer available. We listened about jahrzeits - anniversaries of the deaths of famous tzaddikim, which are still attended by crowds of mysterious black figures with hats and payot. And we would have listened for a long time, had it not been for the approaching downpour! In the first drops of rain, we tried our hand at photography, inspired by the important thoughts of the presenter. Unfortunately, the workshop itself lasted too short a time, but - inspired, trained, eager to work - we will still return to the cemetery to continue our work. There will be an exhibition of the photographs taken today and in the coming days,. It will be held in the Municipal Library, and Agnieszka Traczewska has promised to come to the vernissage, so we will still be able to listen to the unfinished threads, talk, ask about what we did not manage to find out. Moreover, the downpour created an amazing scenery and atmosphere, which we hope will be recorded in the participants' works.

The workshop was held as part of our educational project 'The Story of the Jewish Cemetery in Mszana Dolna. Edition 2023'.

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage within the framework of the National Heritage Institute programme - Together for Heritage