The Looking Through Objects: Women in Contemporary Polish Design presents the profiles of 16 Polish female designers working at the intersection of product design, collector’s design, handicraft and art. The project aims to create a space for discussion on the role of women in design. Although the exhibition narrative focuses on women, it is no coincidence that it is not women but objects that play a central role in the exhibition title. It is the everyday things that mirror social and economic change. They tell the story of how we live, think and what we surround ourselves with in our homes. They demonstrate innovative thinking, reveal design processes and approaches to production and craftsmanship. Looking Through Objects allows us to see it from the perspective of women working at the intersection of industrial design, collector’s design, craft and art. The objects were selected without defining how they were made, assuming that design understood as everyday objects would best illustrate not only the changes, but also the here and now of Polish design. Looking through objects we can see how contemporary Polish design has changed with their active involvement. Visitors can immerse themselves in the designers’ creative worlds by using their objects as a “portkey” into their thinking, inspirations and processes. Each object is accompanied by a large portrait of the artist in their studio and photographs showing their processes and tools. Quotes from the interviews with the designers also accompany each display. 

The Looking Through Objects: Women in Contemporary Polish Design project was conceived as a touring exhibition to promote Polish design. It was previously presented at the Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design (ETDM) in Tallin, Estonia, and in Nomus – New Art Museum, branch of the National Museum in Gdansk, Poland. The other part of the project is Design Stories — a series of lectures, talks, podcasts and interviews organised in different locations exploring women’s contribution to change through design and creative practices. Podcast episodes of Design Stories London and Design Stories Brussels were produced in collaboration with Disegno Journal. The next event is Design Stories Warsaw, on 20-21 November.

Ehibition: Looking Through Objects. Women in Contemporary Polish Design
from 9 May to 28 September 2025 
Design Museum Brussels
Place de Belgique 1,  1020 Brussels

Participating designers: Agnieszka Aleksandra Bar; Anna Bera; Alicja Bielawska; Maja Ganszyniec; Natasza Grześkiewicz; Maria Jeglińska-Adamczewska; Magda Jurek; Malwina Konopacka; Megi Malinowsky; Karina Marusińska; Alicja Patanowska; Monika Patuszyńska; Justyna Popławska; Alicja Strzyżynska; Zuzanna Wójcik; Aleksandra Żeromska.

Organiser: Design Museum Brussels and Polish Institute Brussels
Partners: SWPS University in Warsaw, Royal College of Art in London, National Museum in Gdańsk
Curators: Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, Gian Luca Amadei, Dario Lombardi


Project Coordination: Julia Bujak
Graphic Design: Kasia Kubicka

Exhibition Design: Dominika Janicka

Curators:

Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka is a design curator with a background in visual arts. She is interested in how local context influences design identities. She is also a columnist, event organiser, and jury member of design competitions. Agnieszka is the dean of the Faculty of Design at SWPS University in Warsaw. Previously, she was the artistic director of the Łódź Design Festival and the launching editor-in-chief at Elle Decoration Poland.

Gian Luca Amadei is an architectural historian, researcher and curator. His interests intersect between architecture history, urban planning, sociology and cultural context. Gian Luca is an advocate of life-long learning and a Lecturer at the Royal College of Art in London. He is also the author of the books: Discovering Women in Polish Design (2009) and Victorian Cemeteries and the Suburbs of London (2022).

Dario Lombardi is an independent photographer based in Vienna. He is the author of the portraits of Discovering Women in Polish Design (2009).

The exhibition is organised as an accompanying event of the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union.