Club Żak is one of the oldest cultural centres in Poland. It was created in 1957 as student’s culture club (Klub Studentów Wybrzeża Żak).
Since 1991 Club Żak with initiation from city authorities activated a new formula - as a City Institution of Culture, while keeping with its heritage and experience of past generations of Żak members. Club Żak is a urban cultural centre, modern Arthouse conducting under one roof musical, theatrical, movie and exhibition, film fests, dance workshops which involve people of all ages to participate in Tricity culture. Since November 2001 this is happening in new Żak building, localized between Wrzeszcz and Oliwa. Club’s space is almost 1400 square meters and contains:
Having all these aspects the Club realises a cultural program on a high level and clear profile: European, Asian, Latin America cinema, jazz music and widely implied alternative music and various fusion of music, dance theatre, butoh, polish avant-garde. It is this sharpness that clearly pays off in great frequency. “Flagship” Club events are The International Jazz Jantar Festival and The Gdansk Dance Fest (in the past: The Gdansk Corporation of Dance Festival).
“Polska The Times - Dziennik Baltycki” (6.11.07) wrote: Last fifty years of culture in the Tricity is very hard imagine without Club Żak (...) Żak is still a club with a big C (...). Similarly as back in the past tries not to show kitsch. It bases on culture with a quality sign. The high amount of visitors to Club Żak works by: original, modern and functional architecture, a great location (near main Tricity artery, in the center dynamic developing Wrzeszcz, grow up to be the Centre of Gdansk). Every day tens to hundreds of people visit the club.
Cinema (148 seats) run by one of the oldest polish arthouse cinema, it’s the only cinema in the Tricity, where you can get to know cinema history, told in black-white pictures
A big concert-theatre hall called Suwnicowa Hall (200 seats or 600 standing spots) where for all year, day after day there are concerts, presented are off theatre performances, polish and foreign (well known are artists from Japan presents different kinds of dance theatres), theatre workshops, theatre rehearsal, dance courses, lectures, meetings
the most beautiful space in the club (in the glass pyramid), specialises in presenting students and graduates works from the Gdansk Academy of Arts
Cafe (100 seats) run by the club and overflowing with people not only when dj’s play on Fridays and Saturdays, famous for good and simple food
