We present highlights from the program for 24th year of Designblok
9. 9. 2022
The 24th Annual Designblok, the largest design expo in Central Europe, will be upon us in less than a month. The main exhibition venues will be Gabriel Loci in Holečkova Street and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Old Town. In addition to 178 exhibitors from the ranks of established companies, brands, and studios, as well as independent creators, talented newcomers, and international stars, it will also feature a number of special exhibitions. You can look forward to the best of Czech porcelain, a showcase of contemporary Ukrainian design, and progressive work by European students. The festival will take place from 5 to 9 October 2022 and its theme will be THE FOREST.
This year the Designblok Festival will once again feature the latest in contemporary Czech and international design, fashion, and jewelry in the traditional Superstudio format focused on presenting companies and brands and the Openstudio format with artists and design studios. You can treat yourself to the most recent collections of glass companies Brokis, Lasvit, and Preciosa, wooden novelties from the brands Devoto, Javorina, Ton, Johann Malle, Wuders, and many others. In the forest of independent Czech design, fresh inspiration is growing in the form of new products by jewelry designer Dana Bezděková, designer Jiří Krejčiřík, the young Totemo brand, ceramist Martina Hudečková, book publisher wo-men, paper brand Porigami, and dozens of others.
Designerie, the central space and heart of the entire festival located in the windowed corridor of Gabriel Loci, will be transformed this year into a playful oasis where visitors can contemplate and learn under the guidance of designers Monika Matějková and Veronika Watzková from the studio MY DVĚ. This year's Designerie will also include the Reflex Stage, which will offer a series of educational lectures and discussions every day on topics of design, architecture, fashion, marketing, ecology, and more.
Gabriel Loci will showcase seven progressive Ukrainian designers, studios, and brands. Curated by Studio Ihor, the collaborative exhibition Sláva Ukrajině [Glory to Ukraine] at Openstudio will feature Gunia, Gushka Oksana Levchynya, Re:Quiet, Serigraph Studiov, and Zhernov Artifactory ‒ every name an original and inspiring approach. A separate installation at the Church of the Annunciation near Gabriel Loci will host a Czech premiere, an exclusive look at the work of one of the main protagonists of contemporary Ukrainian design, Viktoria Yakusha, who creates her work under the Faina brand. On display will be Hlyna ceramic vases, Soniah concrete lamps, and the Plyn sofa from the designer's collection for the Faina brand, as well as the latest Sluhach lamps designed for the Czech brand Lasvit.
Invitations were accepted this year by other international stars as well. Designblok will host product design legend Richard Hutten, leading Dutch studio Toer and the Polish duo Chmara.Rosinke, who work with experimental kitchen concepts. Other international gallerists, collectors, buyers, and journalists will also be headed for Prague.
Nor will fresh inspiration in the form of student work be lacking this year either. Part of the festival will include the finals of the international competition of diploma theses in product and fashion design, Diploma Selection. Thirty talented designers from multiple European countries will present their works in an exhibition in the Gabriel Loci refectory and at fashion shows organized in partnership with EUNIC, the association of European Union National Institutes for Culture. The product design exhibition can be found on the ground floor of the Gabriel Loci exhibition hall. The fashion shows will take place on Saturday 8 October 2022 at Sacre Coeur on Holečková Street in Smichov and tickets will go on sale at the website designblok.cz from mid-September. Another showcase of progressive young artists will be presented by the installation Erste Premier Talent Cards on the 2nd floor of the Museum of Decorative Arts, which was created thanks to the support of the festival's general partner Erste Premier.
The second main venue of the festival, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, will come alive with other special exhibitions as well. The inspiring tenor of original and current work will be presented by this year's Art House. The intervention of contemporary designers will be led by curator Danica Kovářová in the exhibition Sběratel – Lannova sbírka skla [Collector: The Lanna Glass Collection] on the first floor of the Museum of Decorative Arts. One noteworthy event in this year's program is the exhibition Terra Alba – nová vlna českého porcelánu [Terra Alba: The new wave of Czech porcelain]. This will consist of a summary of the most interesting works of recent years as well as completely new works created specifically for the main exhibition of this year's Designblok. Works curated by art historian Radek Wohlmuth from the unorthodox architecture of Maxim Velčovský will be on display on the 2nd floor of the museum. Here as well the exhibition Rodinné stříbro [Family Silver] organized in partnership with Forbes magazine, will build on its success from last year's festival. Attendees will enjoy artisanal workshops and stories of rescued ancient factories intermingled with established brands from greenfield sites in recent decades. All of these share precise manufacture in the Czech Republic and a passion for Czech craftsmanship.
The 24th Designblok will take place from 5 to 9 October 2022. Detailed information about the exhibitions and ancillary program will soon be available at designblok.cz. Advanced sales of discounted festival passes are already taking place on the website at designblok.cz.
