Museum of Photography
ul. Karpacka 52
85-164 Bydgoszcz
Tel. (52) 567 00 07
muzeumfoto@byd.pl
www.muzeumfoto.byd.pl
Admission charges (please see the museum website).
Tuesdays – Fridays 11 am – 5 pm
Saturdays: 10 am – 2 pm
Duration of tour: 30 minutes
Director: Marta Rosenthal-Sikora MA
Staff: Prof. Marek Chamot, Marek Noniewicz MA, Karolina Szatkowska BA
The Museum of Photography is one of the facilities located on the TeH O: Bydgoszcz Water, Industry and Craft Trail (Szlak Wody, Przemysłu 2 i Rzemiosła TeH O). It has been operating within the University of 2 Economy (Wyższa Szkoła Gospodarki – WSG) as a part of the university’s Academic Creative Space (Akademicka Przestrzeń Kreatywna WSG) since November 2004. It was established to preserve the heritage of the ALFA Photographic Plate Factory (Fabryka Płyt Fotograficznych ALFA), an entity producing photographic plates which operated in the city before the Second World War, as well as its successor the Bydgoszcz Photochemical Plant FOTON (Bydgoskie Zakłady Fotochemiczne FOTON) and the Bydgoszcz Photographic Society (Bydgoskie Towarzystwo Fotograficzne). The exhibits include cameras (a wooden studio camera dating from the late 19th century, a Leica camera made in
1933), enlargers, film cameras, projectors, photographs, books and periodicals such as the Almanach of Vilnius Photography dating from 1931 (Almanach Fotografii Wileńskiej). There are approx. 4,000 exhibits in the museum with exhibition space of 400 sq. metres. Apart from collecting exhibits and preserving historically valuable items,
the museum is also involved in publishing activities and in organizing exhibitions. Temporary exhibitions have included the works of Tomasz Gudzowaty, Leszek J. Pękalski, Maciej Pisuk, Jerzy Riegel, Zofia Rydet, Zbigniew Tomaszczuk, and Wacław Wantuch. The museum also provides educational activities and supports amateur photographers.
The museum has a photographic darkroom and a professional studio, and runs museum classes for children and teenagers, specialist workshops – from the camera obscura, through 19th-century noble photography techniques to digital photography, as well as the Bydgoska Akademia Fotografii (Bydgoszcz Academy of Photography).
The museum organizes events such as ‘meet the author’ sessions and open portfolio overviews, thus enriching cultural events in the city and the region.
