Andrzej Iwo Szoka

Andrzej Iwo Szoka, PhD, is a Museum Curator and Manager of the Intangible Heritage Interpretation Centre of Krakow, Museum of Krakow. Museologist with 13 years of experience, he coordinates and participates in projects involving the safeguarding, documentation and popularisation of the intangible cultural heritage of Krakow. As custodian of the collection of Krakow nativity scenes and folklore at the Museum of Krakow, Andrzej is a member of the team working on the nomination of the Nativity scene (szopka) tradition in Kraków to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2018). He also coordinates the work for the nomination of the Parade of Lajkonik on the Polish Intangible Cultural Heritage List (2014). Curator of museum exhibitions presenting the intangible cultural heritage of Krakow, he also is the author of publications on the history and tradition of Krakow and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. 

The favourite part of his job as a museum professional is searching for and discovering new facts and curiosities about the history and folklore of Krakow. He enjoys reading history books and sources on the history of Krakow, as well as antiquity and Byzantium. He takes pleasure in cooking dishes that his grandmother and mother taught him to prepare:  dumplings (pierogi), potato cutlets (kotlety ziemniaczane), cheesecake (serowiec). His hobbies include collecting mushrooms, hiking in the woods and mountains and painting figurines.