MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art

MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, is the city's main venue for art of the recent past. It opened on 19 May 2011 at ulica Lipowa 4, in the Zablocie part of Podgorze on the south bank of the Vistula. The museum was built on the site of Oskar Schindler's wartime enamel factory, next to the surviving factory building that now houses a separate history museum. The complex was designed by the Italian architect Claudio Nardi and keeps the low, saw-toothed roofline of the old industrial halls.

MOCAK gives Krakow a serious contemporary counterweight to its medieval core. The programme leans toward art of the last few decades, drawn from its own collection and from changing temporary shows. It sits in a stretch of Podgorze that has turned from post-industrial backland into one of the city's more interesting districts, so it pairs well with a walk along the river and the wider factory site. The building itself, light and stripped back, is part of the appeal.

The museum runs a rotating programme of temporary exhibitions alongside displays from its permanent collection, so the specific works on show change through the year. Expect painting, photography, sculpture, installation and video by Polish and international artists, much of it made since the 1990s. The site also holds a library, a bookshop and a cafe, and it keeps a conservation studio for contemporary art. Because the shows change, check the museum's current programme before you go rather than expecting a fixed hang.

The museum stands on part of the former Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik, the enamelware plant run by Oskar Schindler during the German occupation. When the site was redeveloped, the front administrative building became the Museum of Krakow's history exhibition on the wartime city, and a new museum of contemporary art rose on the demolished rear halls. MOCAK opened in 2011 as the first purpose-built contemporary art museum in Poland since 1945.

Allow one to two hours, depending on how many temporary shows are running. Many visitors combine it with the Oskar Schindler Enamel Factory museum next door, which needs its own timed ticket and roughly ninety minutes, so a half day covers both.

Weekday afternoons are usually quiet. The Schindler factory next door draws large timed groups, so MOCAK can be the calmer half of a visit to Zablocie. Check the museum's official channels for current opening days, prices and any free-entry day, as these change through the year.

MOCAK is at ulica Lipowa 4 in Zablocie, roughly 2.5 kilometres south-east of the Main Square, on the Podgorze side of the river. Trams run to Zablocie from the centre, and it is a walkable distance from Kazimierz across the footbridge. For routes and tickets across the city, see the Krakow guide.

The museum is a modern, single-level building with lifts, and it is one of the more accessible cultural venues in the city. Confirm the current arrangements for step-free entry and any assistance with the museum before your visit.

Zablocie and the neighbouring Podgorze reward a wander:

• The Oskar Schindler Enamel Factory museum, directly next door.
• Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter, a short walk across the river.
• ZaKladka Food & Wine, a relaxed bistro on the Podgorze side for lunch after the galleries.

No. MOCAK is a contemporary art museum built on part of the former Schindler factory site. The wartime history exhibition is in the separate front building next door, run as a branch of the Museum of Krakow.

Contemporary work, much of it from the 1990s onward, across painting, photography, sculpture, installation and video. Displays combine the permanent collection with changing temporary exhibitions, so the exact works vary.

It is about 2.5 kilometres south-east in Zablocie, Podgorze. Take a tram toward Zablocie, or walk across the river from Kazimierz in around twenty minutes.