Guest Country Poland 2011

Peppy, dynamic, internationally oriented and sufficiently radical to be open to change – this is how we might describe the contemporary Polish design scene. It is at home in several centres all at once: Warsaw, Cracow and Lodz, each with its own educational facilities. Lodz also has a design festival and, like many former industrial cities, is cultivating a strong profile of creativity and culture. While the graphic arts in Poland enjoyed a high-profile also during the Communist era, it is only recently that product design has begun to rethink its image. Awareness is appreciably increasing in business enterprises to exploit design to get the competitive edge over their rivals, and many designers living abroad are happy to set up afterwards in their home country. One of these is the successful designer-architect Oskar Zieta, represented at the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK with a solo show. While the Polish EU council presidency engages designers such as festival guest Tomek Rygalik, so that their presence is now being felt on the international scene, groundbreaking exhibitions of Polish design are making waves across the globe. This year, the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK is showing the group exhibition “Just a Thing”, curated by Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, who is presenting ten fascinating Polish designers and designer teams, and the solo exhibition “Reflections” by Oskar Zieta. The 2011 VIENNA DESIGN WEEK is presenting its guest country of Poland with a total of nine events – a real disco- very, so come and enjoy!

The festival focus on Polish design is supported by the Polish Institute Vienna.