On 24 March 2025 at MoMAK, i.e. the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, a multimedia concert “THE PEASANTS” will take place. Musicians from Rebel Babel Film Orchestra will perform music from “The Peasants” movie to the visuals from the said animated film produced in 2023. This event accompanies the exhibition “Young Poland – Polish Art 1890-1918”, which is the first presentation of the most outstanding Polish paintings on that scale in Japan, including works by such artists as Józef Mehoffer, Jacek Malczewski or Olga Boznańska.
“THE PEASANTS” multimedia concert – Polish cultural tradition in Japan
The richness of Polish culture will be presented through bringing together music, film, and visual arts onto one stage. “THE PEASANTS” multimedia concert will combine music composed by Łukasz L.U.C. Rostkowski with visuals from the renowned animated film “The Peasants” directed by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman, which represented Poland in the Oscars competition in 2024. For the purpose of the movie, the composer came up with a soundtrack in the form of a musical dialogue between the past and present, where trance rhythms intertwine with sounds derived from Polish folk music. During the multimedia concert, that music will be interpreted live by Rebel Babel Film Orchestra – a quartet of folk musicians playing archaic instruments. The band’s members include:
- Maria Pomianowska – Płock fiddle and Biłgoraj suka,
- Karolina Skrzyńska – violin and archaic hurdy-gurdy,
- Piotr Kopietz – accordion,
- Maciej Sadowski – double bass.
The musical layer will be supplemented by a visual setting created live by Radosław Deruba – VJ and visual artist, who intersperses stills from the animated film with own visuals inspired by Polish folk art and paintings from the Young Poland period. The concert has been organised by the Polish Institute in Tokyo and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
The “Young Poland” exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto
The multimedia concert will be one of the events accompanying the “Young Poland – Polish Art 1890-1918” exhibition held at the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto (MoMAK). It is the first exposition of the most renowned Polish paintings from the Young Poland period on that scale in Japan. It has been prepared by the Polish-Japanese team of curators: Urszula Kozakowska-Zaucha (National Museum in Krakow) and Yuko Ikeda (MoMAK). It includes works by outstanding artists from that period, among others, Józef Mehoffer, Władysław Podkowiński, Józef Pankiewicz, Jacek Malczewski, Julian Fałat, Olga Boznańska and Stanisław Wyspiański. Owing to the collaboration between MoMAK and the National Museum in Krakow, Polish national museums, and private collectors, more than 130 works of art will be displayed as part of the exhibition, including paintings, furniture, tapestries, and handicraft artefacts.
The exhibition will be available to viewers from 24 March 2025 to 29 June 2025. A rich programme of accompanying events has been prepared, including concerts, lectures, and film screenings – details are available on youngpoland2025.jp. The concert will add splendour to the opening night of the exhibition. For Japanese audience, it will be a rare opportunity to become familiar with the Polish cultural tradition through a combination of contemporary folk-inspired music with visual elements taken from the film which draws extensively from the aesthetics of the Young Poland paintings.