Estonian audiences have an opportunity to discover Polish woman designers. The Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design is hosting the traveling exhibition Looking Through Objects. Women in Contemporary Polish Design until September 25. The exhibition is curated by Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, Ph.D., Dean of SWPS University's Faculty of Design in Warsaw and Program Director of SWPS University’s School of Form, Gian Luca Amadei, Ph.D., from the Royal College of Art in London, and Dario Lombardi, an independent photographer from Vienna.
A woman’s perspective on design
Looking Through Objects. Women in Contemporary Polish Design exhibition is a part of a two-year project carried out by the National Museum in Gdansk and financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage as part of the Kultura Inspirująca (Inspiring Culture) program. The Museum of Applied Art and Design (Eesti Tarbekunsti-ja Disainimuuseum) in Tallinn is the strategic partner of the project.
The exhibition offers an excellent opportunity to compare the current situation in Estonian and Polish contemporary design by presenting the works of women designers from both countries. The exhibited objects range from industrial mass products to unique individual designs.
However, the exhibition features not only designs but also the designers themselves, their working environment, and their thoughts on the essence of their work. Every object is accompanied by a large format portrait of the artist and various photos from her workshop.
We focused on sixteen female designers and their best designs. We met with each of them several times and discussed their inspirations, creative processes, individual strategies, and different design approaches. We wanted to fully understand their impact on the ongoing changes in the Polish design market, since Poland has a rich, yet untold history of women who have left their mark on the history of design.
Dr. Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, Dr. Gian Luca Amadei
exhibition curators
The Looking Through Objects project is aligned with the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Polish women gaining voting rights (1921-2021) and the centenary of Polish-Estonian diplomatic relations. The project includes not only the design exhibition but also seminars and educational events.
Read more about the Design Stories seminar
Learn more about the Looking Through Objects project
“I feel that all our collaborators – even the factory employees – are directly and deeply committed to our projects. I am truly happy that these collaborations have allowed us to keep moving beyond our comfort zone and that we have gained new perspectives and knowledge.”
Megi Malinowsky
Megi Malinowsky, photo: Dario Lombardi
Megi Malinowsky's workshop
Megi Malinowsky's design
Megi Malinowsky's workshop
Megi Malinowsky's workshop
“There is beauty in recycling glass waste, which I see as a raw material. I deliberately combine design, craftsmanship, and art to find new ways of processing the material from scratch, like in a Renaissance workshop. That is my ambition for the future.”
Justyna Popławska
Justyna Popławska, photo: Dario Lombardi
Justyna Popławska's design
Justyna Popławska's design
Justyna Popławska's workshop
Justyna Popławska's workshop
“While developing my family of objects, I realized I have become less scared of designing simple forms such as a sphere or a doughnut shape. I do this by playing with their proportions and curves. Somehow I realized that I do not have to prove anything in terms of designing new forms.”
Malwina Konopacka
Malwina Konopacka, photo: Dario Lombardi
Design by Malwina Konopacka
Design by Malwina Konopacka
Design by Malwiny Konopackiej
Design by Malwina Konopacka
About the Looking Through Objects. Women in Contemporary Polish Design exhibition
Time and place: June 17 – September 25, 2022, Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design
Participating Polish designers: Agnieszka Aleksandra Bar, Alicja Bielawska, Alicja Patanowska, Anna Bera, Izabela Sroka i Julia Cybis, Justyna Popławska, Karina Marusińska, Karina Królak i Patrycja Smirnow, Magda Jurek, Maja Ganszyniec, Malwina Konopacka, Maria Jeglińska, Megi Malinowsky, Monika Patuszyńska, Róża Brito, Wiktoria Szawiel
Project coordination: National Museum in Gdańsk – Agata Abramowicz, Gabriela Brdej, Emilia Pawłusz
Visual identity and graphic design for the exhibition: Kasia Kubicka
Exhibition design: Dominika Janicka
Organizers
- The project is financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage as part of the Kultura Inspirująca (Inspiring Culture) program
Coorganizer
Strategic partner
Partners
Exhibition curators
Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka
Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
Is a design curator and critic She is active in several design-related fields. As a curator, she develops and organizes exhibitions and various art programs. As a journalist and design critic, she writes about design and comments on different phenomena and observes trends. She is a renowned promoter of young designers from Poland and other countries around the world. She is interested in design as a discipline striding both culture and economy. Dr. Jacobson-Cielecka is a co-author of a unique design teaching program at SWPS University’s School of Form. She curated numerous exhibitions of Polish design, presented in Europe and Asia. She is a member of program committees and juries of many Polish and international festivals.
Gian Luca Amadei
Ph.D.
Is an independent academic researcher, curator and internationally recognised design and architectural journalist. His research interests intersect between design, architecture, urban planning, sociology and cultural context. Gian Luca is an advocate of life-long learning and currently a Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art in London, on the Information Experience Design MA at the School of Communication. He is also the author of the following books: Discovering Women in Polish Design (Adam Mickiewicz Institute 2009) and Victorian Cemeteries and the Suburbs of London (Routledge 2022).
Dario Lombardi
Graduated with a Master’s degree in Photography from the Istituto Superiore di Fotografia e Comunicazione Integrata in Rome. He works as a freelance photographer in Vienna. Dario specializes in portrait photography, including theatre, dance and fashion. Dario is the author of the portraits appearing in the book Discovering Women in Polish Design by Gian Luca Amadei.