There are initiatives that resist easy definition. They don’t fit into neat categories, because they are at once a space for meeting, a process, and something that happens in between people. Kultur-Lige is one of them.
Today, it exists as a contemporary community-based project for Polish-Jewish artists and creators from Poland, but its name carries far more than a simple historical reference. It feels more like an anchor point – something that connects the past with what is unfolding here and now.
The original Kultur-Lige was founded in 1918 in Kyiv. It emerged from a need to create and strengthen Yiddish culture – living, contemporary, and accessible. Theatres, publishing houses, and libraries were established. Readings, performances, and concerts were organized. It was culture in motion, rooted in everyday life and at the same time oriented toward the future. Today, that history is not being recreated. It resonates.
A network that begins with a meeting
The contemporary Kultur-Lige brings together around 80 artists from across Poland, working in fields ranging from music and theatre to visual arts, film, and literature. Each person arrives with their own experience, language, and way of working. What begins as a meeting quickly becomes something more.
Kultur-Lige creates a space where experiences and practices can be shared, but also a space where one can simply be – without the need to explain everything from the beginning. It’s a place where relationships form organically, and where support is not just a concept but something tangible. Out of these conversations and encounters, shared ideas and collaborations emerge – and sometimes, just the feeling of not working in isolation.
In a world that often emphasizes individualism, this kind of collective space carries real weight. The project has its own rhythm – meetings take place twice a year, alternating between Warsaw and Kraków. So far, there have been six editions. Each one different, each leaving behind something difficult to define: an idea, a conversation, a new connection.
What remains
Kultur-Lige is co-created by three organizations: FestivALT, the Zapomniane Foundation, and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. This combination creates an interesting dynamic – on one hand, there is the energy of a grassroots initiative; on the other, the support of established institutions. Because of this, the project can remain both open and grounded.
It’s difficult to fully capture what Kultur-Lige is if you look only at its structure. It becomes clearer when you think of it as a space where something begins. At its core, it’s about voice -the possibility of speaking in your own language, on your own terms.
Photograph by – Vira Kosina / FestivALT (Kraków, March 2026)