Research is one of the most important areas of activity for museums, as it serves as the starting point for the creation of exhibitions, publications and academic conferences, as well as for modern conservation programmes, educational initiatives and other activities aimed at promoting our heritage, including through digital means. Thanks to collaboration between the museum’s research staff and other internal departments, as well as external organisations (particularly universities), museums are able to fulfil their core remit—as set out in the Museum Act and the institutions’ statutes—to a high standard.
At the National Museum in Kraków, research activities are focused on the preliminary and in-depth study of the collections from a broad interdisciplinary perspective, combining the expert knowledge of art historians, historians and archaeologists, as well as conservators, physicists, chemists and geologists. The museum also has specialist research facilities in the form of the Laboratory for Analysis and Non-Destructive Testing of Historic Objects (LANBOZ), and the conservation of the MNK’s collections is often linked to the implementation of research projects (see Conservation, Prevention).
The museum’s research staff take part in national and international academic conferences and publish the results of their research through the MNK Publishing House – which is classified at Level I in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s list – as well as in external publications (both domestic and international), including academic journals listed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The National Museum in Kraków itself publishes peer-reviewed journals and academic series (see Publishing House).
Most of the National Museum in Kraków’s research staff are employed in the 15 Collections Departments and the MNK Czartoryski Museum in the roles of research assistants, assistant professors, curators and certified curators holding academic titles. They provide expert care for the heritage collections, catalogue and carry out scholarly research on the collections, make works of art available for research, and share the results of their own findings through research enquiries, publications and conferences. They curate permanent and temporary exhibitions. They support the National Museum in Kraków’s educational and promotional activities by delivering lectures and leading curatorial tours of exhibitions, as well as taking part in media programmes and interviews.
dr Magdalena Ludera
Email address
mludera@mnk.pl
The MNK Czartoryski Museum
For information on the MNK’s collections and the rules governing access to artefacts, please contact the Inventories Department in the first instance:
Telephone
+48 12 433 55 96
Email address
