Uniwersyteckie Centrum Kultury began to operate in 2015, together with the new campus of Białystok University. It features a very well equipped cameral stage (with more than 100 seats), workshop room, open exhibition space and rooms for community organizations. Not too long ago the Uniwersyteckie Centrum Podcastów moved in here. Part of the building is taken up by the campus cafeteria.
UCK performs cultural, educational and science popularization activities. It engages in initiatives connected with multiculturality, tolerance, and local history. Centrum organizes performances, exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, author and discussion meetings, conferences and other events. Characteristic are projects in participation theater, realized thanks to the support of Fundacja UwB: “Modlitwa. Teatr powszechny” (2016 and 2017), based on the prose by a Nobel Prize winner Swietłana Aleksijewicz, “Bieżenki” (2018), about female memories of exile during World War I, “Żywe torpedy” (2019), about contemporary identities and the meaning of patriotism and heroism. A participative reading of Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk drama “Walizka”, about the Holocaust, is planned for December of 2021.
Centrum collaborates, among others, with Białystok branch of Akademia Teatralna im. Aleksandra Zelwerowicza and many other cultural organizations and independent groups, such as: Teatr Latarnia, Teatr Papahema, Grupa Coincidentia, Podlaskie Stowarzyszenie Tańca and Białostockie Towarzystwo Fotograficzne. Plays from such cultural institutions such as Teatr Dramatyczny im. Aleksandra Węgierki and Teatr Wierszalin are staged especially with the academic audience in mind. Working with Białostocki Ośrodek Kultury includes such festival as: Wschód Kultury - Inny Wymiar, Dni Sztuki Współczesnej in Białystok, Art Weekend and Żubroffka, dedicated to short film-forms.
What is more, Podlaski Festiwal Nauki i Sztuki takes place here every year, Teatr Bez Nazwy operates here. Kreatywne Rozmowy o Sztuce are organized here, which are a student council and doctoral candidates of UwB initiative.
Events organized by UCK are fundamentally aimed at not only the academic community but also other citizens of Białystok. Many events are free of charge.
The permanent team of UCK consists of three people: dr Katarzyna Niziołek (from the Institute of Sociology UwB), as a dean’s representative, and two staff members: Michał Chrzanowski and Michał J. Dąbrowski. Volunteers recruited from among the students help with specific events.
