Dziecinada - Polish design for children

“Designers arrive at their works through different paths. Some rely on intuition. They look for the child within themselves and let it come to the fore. This is how Kalimba’s, Izabella Gkagkanis’, Boska’s, Alelale’s individualized, unique plushies are created. Each one different, out of the ordinary, strange. They are very personal, as if they came out of a child’s drawing block,” explains Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka. – Others, like Three Mice, Kwasieborski, the duo Rusin and Czop, Ziemowit Kalin or Maja Ratyńska, think educationally and educationally. They create toys that develop children’s skills, teach spatial thinking, accuracy, planning, patience. But they also give freedom of choice and develop imagination. And, importantly, they entertain adults as much as children.

A separate category is made up of books – the pride of Polish graphic design. They are published by small and independent publishing houses, which successfully compete with large publishing concerns and win one after another prestigious IBBY (The International Board on Books for Young People) awards. The publishing items presented at the exhibition do not have the ambition of a review, they are the subjective and author’s choice of the Curator, but each of them is characterized by the highest artistic level and…. a great deal of humor. Designing for children is quite a challenge – children are the most sincere and critical viewers of art. They are not fooled by formal treatments. In turn, adults are responsible for shaping children’s creativity and good taste, developing imagination, bringing up an open and conscious person, sensitive to beauty and caring about the aesthetics of everyday life. All objects presented at the exhibition meet the expectations of children and the requirements of adults – they are pretty, useful, practical, simple – well designed.

The authors of the works presented at the exhibition are young, talented Polish designers who successfully pursue their creative intentions and are not afraid to confront the most demanding critic – the child.
The authors of the works: Dominika Laskowska (Akuku), Emocja, Beza Projekt, Izabella Gkagkanis, Justyna Jacyszyn, Kalimba, Ziemowit Kalin, Knockoutdesign, Kompott, Michał Kwasieborski, Basia Lewandowska, Mamama, Ola Mirecka, Mysiadziurka, Miuki, m3 Myszy, Puff-Buff Design, Maja Ratyńska, Joanna Rusin and Agnieszka Czop, Simple, Timoore, Magdalena Jakubowska-Miąsek, Oskar Zięta, Anna Żelazowska (Alelale)

Publishers: Dwie Siostry, Wytwórnia, Czarodziejska Kura, Znak.

AGNIESZKA JACOBSON-CIELECKA

Curator of many exhibitions and journalist, expert and popularizer of contemporary design in Poland and abroad. Artistic director of the Łódź Design Festival 2008-2010 (www.lodzdesign.com). She cooperates with many cultural institutions in Poland and abroad, organizing exhibitions of Polish and international design. She is also involved in the popularization of design and designers. From 2000 to 2007 she was editor-in-chief of the Polish edition of Elle Decoration. Graduate of the painting department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk.

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REGIONAL MUSEUM IN STALOWA WOLA

With its cultural and educational activity, the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola inscribes itself in the short, but interesting history of the city and proves that culture “happens” also far from large metropolises. The Museum carries out unique projects promoting the region’s cultural heritage resources (“In the footsteps of art déco” or “CID for the future”), educational programs and exhibitions of contemporary Polish design (“Natural resources of Polish design”, “Poland Folk” “UNPOLISHED – young design from Poland”), which are successful in many European markets. The museum has been repeatedly awarded and honored in prestigious competitions: “Museum event of the year – Sibyl” and ‘Poland is getting more beautiful’.