Polska! Year started in Spring of this year and will continue through to 2010. It is a joint initiative of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The purpose of the Year is to bring the communities of Poland and Great Britain closer by strengthening cultural relations and establishing new contacts between Polish and British artistic institutions, artists and organisers of cultural events.
Polska! Year comprises over 200 projects presenting the most interesting achievements of Polish culture and showcasing works of the most outstanding Polish artists to the British public. It features exhibitions of past and modern art, concerts of classical, jazz and contemporary music, reviews of feature films, documentaries and animation, theatrical performances, as well as conferences and seminars.
At London Design Festival this year there was a hive of activity showcasing Polish culture. Young Creative Poland from 19-27 September was a group show of the best young designers emerging from Poland and working in furniture design, industrial design, graphic design, fashion, architecture and innovative engineering.
Polska Folk took place at Tent London from 24-27 September and was an exhibition of new work from young Polish designers who have reached back to traditional folk designs, materials and manufacturing processes in making their work.
Unfortunately, this year I was unable to take time off from work in order to make the trip to London Design Festival. Both Polska Folk and Young Creative Poland would definitely have been at the top of my list of things to go and see. But fear not, the net is awash with round ups of the designs that were exhibited. I won’t be posting everything here on my blog, but Dezeen has a special feature on Polish design at the moment so if you are interested I suggest you click here.