During the 8th Edition of NYCxDESIGN, the Polish Cultural Institute New York and its longtime partner WantedDesign showcase young talent from two schools in Poland: the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the Strzemiński Academy of Art in Łódź (with its second appearance at WantedDesign). The project is the result of a two-year collaboration.

To celebrate 100 years of Polish-American diplomatic relations, this year’s presentations will foster mutual inspiration and cultural exchange in younger generations with this marquee event.

Design School Workshop 2019 led by the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw

OPEN FORM FOR WELL-BEING

Conversation Lounge at WantedDesign Manhattan in Chelsea

Workshop led by Tomek Rygalik and Jerzy Porębski, faculty members of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw

Final presentation: May 21, 11:00am

269 11th Avenue, between 27th and 28th Streets, New York 10001

The 8th Edition of the Design School Workshop DSW 2019 will be led for the first time by a Polish design school – the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and faculty members Tomek Rygalik and Jerzy Porębski, as well as WantedDesign team members and guest mentors. DSW is a collaborative workshop where teams are formed by grouping students from different schools from around the world. This year, there are ten participating schools represented by four or five students: Aalto University (Finland), Appalachian University (USA), Art Center (USA), Centro (Mexico), Ecole Boulle (France), Escuela de Comunicación Monica Herrerra (El Salvador), Pratt Institute (USA), Strate School of Design (France), Tongji University (China), and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Poland). Students representing the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw are Aleksandra Jankowska, Anna Jurgielewicz, Wiktor Szufler and Szymon Zakrzewski.

Students will team up to complete a project on the theme of the Open Form for Well-Being. They will have only five days to brainstorm, conceptualize, design and produce objects exploring how the Open Form can be implemented in design in meaningful and tactile ways The main studio will be hosted in a creative space at Brooklyn’s Industry City from May 16-20. The project will culminate in a juried competition. The final public presentation will take place Tuesday, May 21, at 11:00 AM at the Conversation Lounge at WantedDesign Manhattan in Chelsea.

The Jury Committee includes Allan Chochinov (Chair, SVA|NYC MFA Products of Design & Core77) co-founder Jean-Jacques L’Henaff (VP Design at Lixil) and designer Todd Bracher.

The title “Open Form for Well Being” references the theory of the Open Form, which was created in the late 1950s by Polish architect, designer, artist and educator Oskar Hansen. Hansen was the first to oppose the modernist orthodoxy of the Athenian Charter and to question the followers of Le Corbusier. According to the theory of the Open Form, a designer does not create a closed work of art but develops a context for possible interpretations. In this framework, Hansen’s projects were carried out on various scales: from exhibition designs, temporary pavilions, and housing estates to the Linear Continuous System – a project that envisioned decentralized cities running across Poland and ultimately planned for the entire European continent.  The title of the workshop points to the interdependence of two elements: the Open Form theory as method, and the intended goal – a sense of well-being in public space.

Design School Brooklyn Exhibition – Strzemiński Academy of Art in Łódź

CONSCIOUS DESIGN

May 18-21

Industry City, Brooklyn, 274 36th Street

The Conscious Design exhibit at the Design School Brooklyn Exhibition in Brooklyn’s Industry City showcases innovative solutions to product design and environmentally sustainable materials through the eyes of students from the Strzemiński Academy in Łódź, Poland. The six featured designs are the result of collaborations between student teams working under the supervision of faculty members and curators Karol Janiak and Dominika Drezner-Ilczuk.

These projects raise awareness about the ecological, cultural and social conditions of the world and feature design as a tool of environmental protection as well as social change. The six featured proposals include the small-scale community-conscious architecture project created by Zuzanna Janecka and Gabriela Zapała, “ConnectORnot,” which aims to address local community needs. Designed by Agata Domżał and Weronica Walenciak, “Coat for the Homeless” blends the languages of media and advertisement with social concern, while the card game “Basura,” by authors Agata Bugalska and Katarzyna Michnowska, educates players about waste consciousness through interactive play. “Unmei” by Olga Jęchorek, an air pollution mask of the future, offers a new way of filtering contaminants from every environment.  The collage series “Point of View” by Karolina Kołodziejczyk and Valerii Rud, also addresses environmental pollution as well as waste accumulation in oceans and wildlife, while the installation “Wish for a Fish” draws attention to consumer responsibility in the problem of water usage.

The Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw’s participation in Design Schools Workshop 2019 is co-organized and supported by the Polish Cultural Institute New York and with the support of Industry City, Visual Magnetics, XL Airways, Filzfelt, and Omar Muniz studio. Presented with Core77.

Participation of the Strzemiński Academy of Art in Łódź in the Design School Brooklyn Exhibition 2019 is co-organized and supported by the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

The Strzemiński Academy of Art Łódź website http://int.asp.lodz.pl/academy

Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw website:

https://asp.waw.pl/eng/