The Brussels exhibition proves that Czech design belongs to the world's top

On the occasion of the Czech Republic's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague (UMPRUM) in cooperation with the Moravian Gallery in Brno, the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and other government institutions prepared the exhibition Design and Transformation. Stories of Czech Design 1990-2020. Two parts of the exhibition will be on display at the Prague House in Brussels and the Design Museum Brussels. Visitors will be able to see the products of major Czech companies and brands collaborating with leading Czech designers from September to early January next year. The accompanying programme will include lectures, workshops, and musical performances.

The exhibition shows that the term Czech design hides many remarkable products and works. It traces the relationship between the transformation of society and design production. It not only shows beautiful objects but also tries to present the backdrop of their creation. The stories of companies whose destinies document the specifics of the Central European situation, centuries-old cultural and craft traditions, as well as the constant changes in state formations, economic, and political frameworks.

Jindřich Vybíral the rector of UMPRUM explains, "Today, design itself is transforming, as a result of which designers, in addition to creating real, market-oriented products, are also trying to design hypothetical possibilities, utopian concepts, and alternative 'counter-products'. It is not only contemporary design that seeks to respond to the problems that arise in times of transformation and crisis - and this is what the exhibition seeks to highlight."

The curator of the exhibition, Daniela Kramerová, adds: "One of the main themes is discontinuities - the ability to respond to change and to continue interrupted traditions in a contemporary intellectual and technological context. The transformation of traditional inspiration is thus contained, for example, in the blown glass luminaires by Bomma decorated with a robotic cut, in the works of contemporary designers and students inspired by the onion decoration of porcelain, or in the latest collection of seating furniture by TON, in which the Swedish authors from the Claesson Koivisto Rune studio were inspired by Josef Hoffmann's modernist armchair from 1930. In addition to local specifics, we are thus presenting the global dimension of Czech design (cooperation with international creators as well as successful implementations of Czech creators in several countries)."

"We are confronted with the task of strengthening social awareness of companies, their willingness to participate in a collaborative presentation, and in building a national brand. This is both out of idealism and conviction and through the perspective of long-term profit that manufacturers can gain by strengthening the prestige of Czech design. The opportunity to present our work differently than by participating in the exhibition corresponds to the value of the Czech Republic's cultural capital," adds Radek Sidun, Vice-Rector of UMPRUM.

Vernissage:

6. 9. 2022 – Design Museum Brussels, Place de Belgique - Belgiëplein, Brussels, Belgium.
7. 9. 2022 – Prague House in Brussels, Avenue Palmerston 16, Brussels, Belgium.

Duration of the exhibition:

7. 9. 2022 – 8. 1. 2023 – Design Museum Brussels, Place de Belgique - Belgiëplein, Brussels, Belgium.
8. 9. 2022 – 2. 10. 2022 – Prague House in Brussels, Avenue Palmerston 16, Brussels, Belgium.