A primer on Polish design at Budapest Design Week 2017

Among the 100 projects, in addition to furniture, glass or porcelain, items commonly associated with design, are less obvious things: typefaces, logos, children’s toys, a locomotive, a neon sign, a glider, a scooter, and even Poland’s tastiest treat Ptasie Mleczko and a rubber Ringo wheel – a Polish sports game. Presented are both contemporary designs and those that have managed to become classics. Uniques, verging on individual works of art; prototypes that never entered mass production; but also very popular items that Poles have used on a daily basis for the last 100 years.

The exhibition also links the past with the present, showing the achievements of Polish design through the achievements of contemporary Polish graphic design. This is because we present 100 works by Polish designers interpreted by twenty-five Polish illustrators – artists with very different achievements: experienced masters of the Polish school of illustration, illustrators of the young and middle generation winning awards around the world today and quite young ones who have just graduated. Most of the invited illustrators illustrate children’s books, while also working in the broad field of visual communication. They present different styles and techniques, all of them united by great talent.

The exhibition is not only 100 objects and 100 of their artistic interpretations, it is also 100 stories: about designers, about needs, about dreams, about possibilities and about limitations. It tells not only about specific projects. It also shows what the design process is all about, how ideas are created, and finally, what an amazing concept design is – the closest art field to man, which we are all surrounded by, which we interact with on a daily basis and without which we could not do without, although we often do not realize it.

The presentation of the projects in chronological order shows that in the 100-year history of Polish design certain materials, themes and forms keep returning, taking on ever new faces. The exhibition is addressed to a wide audience, including the youngest generation. It was created on the occasion of the centennial of Poland’s Independence.

Illustrators participating in the exhibition:

Jacek Ambrożewski, Edgar Bak, Maciek Blaźniak, Katarzyna Bogucka, Ada Buchholc, Iwona Chmielewska, Robert Czajka, Agata Dudek, Emilia Dziubak, Małgorzata Gurowska, Monika Hanulak, Marta Ignerska, Tymek Jezierski, Paweł Jońca, Agata Królak, Grażka Lange, Patryk Mogilnicki, Piotr Młodożeniec, Ania Niemierko, Ola Niepsuj, Marianna Oklejak, Paweł Pawlak, Dawid Ryski, Marianna Sztyma

The exhibition is accompanied by the book “Elementarz Polskiego Designu”, published by Wytwórnia publishing house, and workshops for families and children. The premiere of the book and the first edition of the exhibition will take place during the Gdynia Design Days 2017 festival. The exhibition and the book are a continuation and development of Ewa Solarz’s project “Illustrated Elementary of Design, or 100 Things Drawn by 25 Illustrators,” prepared for the Łódź Design Festival in 2013.

Curator: Ewa Solarz

Organizer: Adam Mickiewicz Institute

co-organizer: Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola

arrangement: Studio Beton – Marta and Lech Rowińscy

texts about objects: Agnieszka Kowalska, Ewa Solarz, Agata Szydłowska

Coordination: Dr. Magdalena Bąk-Wołoszyn tel. 15 8448556 ext. 15

e-mail: mbakwoloszyn@muzeum.stalowawola.pl   

The exhibition has been presented so far:

30.06.2017-09.07.2017 Gdynia Design Days 2017

The exhibition is organized by the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute operating under the Culture.pl brand, as part of a program promoting Polish design around the world, and is part of the international cultural program accompanying the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Poland’s regaining independence – Priority 3 of the UNPODLEGOLE Multiannual Program. 

The goal of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, a state cultural institution operating under the Culture.pl brand, is to promote Poland and Polish culture abroad. By presenting high-quality initiatives and events in the fields of art, music and design, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute seeks to bring contemporary Polish culture to foreign audiences. 

From 2018 to 2021. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute will coordinate, under Priority 3 of the Multiannual Program INDEPENDENCE, an international cultural program accompanying the 100th anniversary of Poland’s regaining independence. The program will present the most important achievements of Polish culture, and will consist of more than a hundred projects ranging from film productions to exhibitions and theatrical performances.