DZIECINADA na Festiwalu Designu i Kreatywności dla Dzieci

On June 2, the first Festival of Design and Creativity for Children will begin at Concordia Design in Poznań. The entire festival scenario has been created with children in mind, focusing on their education and enjoyment. The word “design” will be transformed and interpreted in various ways to demystify it and show that it simply means a favorite toy, well-made clothing, or a comfortable chair. Throughout this event, children will have multiple opportunities to feel like true designers.

The festival opens with the exhibition “DZIECINADA – Polish Design for Children.” It showcases the most interesting products from Polish designers intended for the youngest. The exhibition will feature items produced in short, limited series as well as products manufactured on an industrial scale: plush toys, building blocks, educational toys, books, as well as furniture, carpets, and lamps—things meant for everyday use at home or in kindergarten, or simply to provide good fun.

Many of these items were created out of genuine need, as designer-parents found that suitable products for their children were lacking in stores. Others stem from a fascination with children’s imagination or an attempt to return to childhood times. All the items presented at the exhibition are functional, simple, aesthetic, friendly—simply well-designed. They will all be subjected to the scrutiny of the most demanding and direct critic—children.

The exhibition is curated by Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, with the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola as a co-organizer. “Designers approach their work in various ways. Some rely on intuition. They search for the child within themselves and let it come to the forefront. This is how individualized, unique plush toys from Kalimby, Izabella Gkagkanis, Boska Teddies, and Alelale are created. Each is different, unmatched, strange. They are very personal, as if they emerged from a child’s drawing block,” explains Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka.

– A separate category is dolls, with pretensions of adulthood, fashionable and provocative, like those from Dorota Kuran or Laloushki by Marta Hryniak and Agnieszka Niezgoda—naive yet full of character. Others, like Trzy Myszy, the duo Rusin and Czop, and Ziemowit Kalin, think educationally and pedagogically.

They create toys that develop children’s skills, teach spatial thinking, precision, planning, and patience. But they also provide freedom of choice and stimulate imagination. Importantly, they entertain adults just as much as children do. The exhibition can be viewed from June 2 to June 10 at Concordia Design, open Saturday, June 2 from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Sunday, June 3 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and from June 4 to June 10 from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM (Free admission).