Prof. Andrzej Bednarczyk, PhD, DSc in Fine Arts
Prof. Andrzej Bednarczyk, Rector of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, was born in Leśna on August 13, 1960. He studied first at the Faculty of Graphic Arts and then at the Faculty of Painting of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków between 1981 and 1986. He earned his diploma in painting in 1986 under the supervision of Associate Professor Zbigniew Grzybowski.
From the very beginning of his professional career, he has been closely associated with his alma mater. He is a co-founder of the Artistic Research Platform, a member of the editorial team of Zeszyty Malarstwa, and a member of both the International Print Triennial Society in Kraków and the Polish Writers’ Association. He has received scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in New York. He is also the author of poetic works and essays on art.
Since 1996, he has continuously served as a member of the Senate of the Academy of Fine Arts. Between 1996–1999 and 1999–2002, he was Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Painting, and from 2002 to 2005, Dean of the Faculty of Painting. From 2005 to 2020, he served as Head of the Department of Painting at the Faculty of Painting.
In 2014–2015, he was a member of the Awards Committee at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Between 2016 and 2020, he led the Interfaculty Doctoral Studies, and from 2019 to 2020, he served as Director of the newly established Doctoral School of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. In 2019, he was also a member of the constitutional committee responsible for developing the framework of the university’s new statute.
For three terms, he served as the university coordinator for cooperation with École Professionnelle des Arts Contemporains in Saxon, Switzerland. Within this collaboration, he organized student exhibitions at the Label Art Festival in Brig, coordinated student participation in three editions of the international Imaginary Landscapes competition, and oversaw post-competition exhibitions in Poland, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
For many years, he has also been actively involved with the International Print Triennial in Kraków as a board member, programme council member, curator, and multiple-time jury member, gaining extensive experience in managing major international artistic initiatives alongside Prof. Witold Skulicz.
