A tent-like structure of large-scale painted textiles and humanoid figures is transforming a Kraków stage into a space somewhere between a theatre set, an exhibition space and a ritual site. Up in the gods, a collaborative installation by the Korean-Polish artist duo Si On and Jakub Julian Ziółkowski, is the visual centrepiece of the 24th Sacrum Profanum Festival at Cricoteka in Kraków.

From 6 to 11 November, the installation provides the setting for a series of concerts forming Ritual, the festival's main programme, which brings together medieval song, folk instruments and experimental composition. Each day's performances are linked by musical-ritual interventions from Ziółkowski, who takes on the role of master of ceremonies. The wider programme also takes music beyond concert halls, including into the Main Reading Room of the Jagiellonian Library, and ends with a street parade through the Old Town.

Curator Kamil Kuitkowski, who invited the duo to collaborate, says the title refers to the highest and cheapest seats in historic London theatres, once mocked as the gods. The installation reclaims that term, he argues, turning a symbol of class division into a space where everyone is, in his words, a god. Si On and Ziółkowski, who are married and have studios next to each other, describe the work as their first collaboration in eight years, and their painted textiles and anthropomorphic totems now inhabit the tent alongside the audience.

The festival also introduces Initiations, a new strand of events aimed at making contemporary music more accessible, with workshops, meetings and activities for children and for groups with specific needs. The installation was unveiled at a press conference on 5 November, and the festival's artistic director has said the project is intended to show that art can create genuine shared experience in a divided world.