For 20th November 2011, as part of the Krakow Museums Open Day, MOCAK came up with a special offer for the youngest – a workshop entitled How Is a Collection Made?

The activities were divided into two sessions. The first part took place in the Museum’s exhibition space. The participants were set a task: put yourself in the shoes of a professional art critic. Each of them received a card with a list of selected works from the MOCAK Collection, which he or she had to mark on the scale from a smiley to a sad face. The kids had to tackle some other small tasks, such as drawing their thoughts, or designing a new Krakow folk costume (this task had been inspired by the Małgorzata Markiewicz’s exhibition EU Textiles). Those who did well were rewarded ‘financially’, the amount paid out in a rather unusual currency… in Mocaks.

Next, the action moved to the audiovisual hall, where the little critics made their own art works. The authors made use of all sorts of materials and techniques, resulting in colourful paintings, cut-outs and collages. Once ready, the works received a professional description and… were put off for sale by auction! The opening bid price for each work was set as 5 Mocaks. The author of the work auctioned had to present it to the audience and encourage them to buy it. The auction produced huge excitement. Those present put a lot of energy into bidding up the works of their friends, and one work reached the record price of 500 Mocaks! The transaction was carried out on the spot, which enabled the kids to move between various roles: an artist, a critic and a seasoned art buyer.

You can view photos from the workshop as well as the auctioned works in our Photogallery.