Short Bio
Dr. Jakub Kłeczek is a cultural historian and media researcher who earned his Ph.D. from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He currently works as an Assistant Professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, where he conducts research on intermedia performance and media archaeology. He also lectures at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. His expertise lies in analyzing the interplay between performances and media in the 19th and 20th centuries. He regularly publishes his research in journals such as the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media. His latest monograph, Digital Performance: Media-Historical Transformations, introduces a media-archaeological approach to the study of performance history. He is also a collector of unique media artifacts, which he uses in teaching and workshops to promote the history of 19th- and 20th-century media.
Publications
Book
- Kłeczek, J., 2023. Digital Performance: Media-Historical Transformations. Toruń: Nicolaus Copernicus University Press.
Selected Articles
Kłeczek, J., 2024. Avant-Garde Performing Arts Meet Mechanical Theater: A Dispositive Analysis. International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, August, pp. 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14794713.2024.2381701.
Kłeczek, J., 2021. New Media Dramaturgy and Post-Digital Performance: User Experience Design in Contemporary Performing Arts. Przestrzenie Teorii [Spaces of Theory], 36. https://doi.org/10.14746/pt.2021.36.6.
Kłeczek, J., 2018. Osvobozené Divadlo and Simultaneous Theatre: Two Unrealized Theatre Projects in Central and Eastern Europe as a Research Subject in Media Archaeology. Polish Theatre Journal, 6.
Kłeczek, J., 2017. The Thinking Machine – The Simultaneous Theatre of Szymon Syrkus and Andrzej Pronaszko: Towards the Archaeology of Digital Performance in Poland. Didaskalia, 139-140.
Kłeczek, J., 2017. Wearable Technology Art – A New Phenomenon in Media Art? An Initial Analysis Based on Works by Atsuko Tanaka, Charlotte Moorman, and Nam June Paik. Polisemia, 17.
Kłeczek, J., 2014. MUDs and “Internet Theatre” – Performances of Reading and Writing Online. Nowe Media [New Media], 5.
Kłeczek, J., 2014. Theatrical Locations in Digital Role-Playing Games: A Reflection on the Remediation of Theatre in Video Games. Replay. Perspectives on Game Studies, 1.
Selected Book Chapters
Kłeczek, J., 2025. The Cyborg Topos in Avant-Garde Theatre: On Oskar Schlemmer’s Organic and Mechanical Performer. In: S. Boselli & S. Lucie, eds. Revealing Posthuman Encounters in Performance. New York: Routledge. [in progress]
Kłeczek, J., 2021. The Interwar Avant-Garde Theatre and the Affirmation of Technological Progress in the Simultaneous Theatre Project. In: A. Karpowicz, J. Kornhauser, M. Rakoczy & A. Wójtowicz, eds. Politics / Avant-Gardes. Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press.
Kłeczek, J., 2022. Teatrograf, Theatre of Labor, and Multimedia in the Works of Emil František Burian and Miroslav Kouřil. In: K. Krzysztof, M. Rewerenda & A. Siwiak, eds. New Worlds: Performing Arts as Political Spaces of Conflict, Dialogue, and Care. Poznań: Adam Mickiewicz University Press.
Kłeczek, J., 2018. The Role of Surveillance Cameras in Performance. In: R.W. Kluszczyński & T. Załuski, eds. Video in Visual Arts. Łódź: University of Łódź Press.
Kłeczek, J., 2016. Network Performance as an Artistic-Research Practice. In: R. Bomba, A. Radomski & E. Solska, eds. Digital Humanities: Text, Image, and Sound Research. Lublin.
Kłeczek, J., 2015. The Nonlinearity of Theatrical Narratives and the Hypertextuality of New Media Objects. In: B. Olszek & M. Wiśniewska, eds. Contemporary Theatre and Film Facing the Challenges of New Media. Toruń: Nicolaus Copernicus University Press.
Kłeczek, J., 2019. The Theatrical Utopia in Hellerau One Hundred Years Later – Performing Arts According to the Trans-Media-Academy. In: J. Sulejewska, ed. Culture in Postmodern Society: Selected Issues. Poznań: Adam Mickiewicz University Press.
Key Achievements
Research Fellowship at UCLA (2022): Conducted research and lectured at one of the top public universities in the USA, collaborating with Prof. Erkki Huhtamo, a leading expert in media archaeology.
Publications and Collaborations with Leading Publishers: Regular contributor and reviewer for the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, a top-tier journal in performance and media studies. Published over 30 articles with both national and international reach.
Monograph on Digital Performance: Published the first comprehensive monograph on the history of digital performance in Poland – Digital Performance: Media-Historical Transformations (2023).
Grant for the Study of Media and Performance History in Poland: Awarded a grant for the project Intermedia Performance from a Media Archaeology Perspective, ranked among the top-scoring applications (SONATINA, National Science Centre).
Unique Collection of Media Artifacts: Curated a collection of rare 19th- and 20th-century objects, including zoetropes, phenakistiscopes, thaumotropes, magic lanterns, and pocket games. This collection is utilized in teaching and public engagement, enhancing the understanding of media history.