Designblok, Prague International Design Festival is the largest design and fashion show in Central Europe. It was founded in 1999 and every year it presents new products by designers and manufacturers with an empahsis on Czech design and creations from the regions of Central Europe.
The director of Designblok is Jana Zielinski and the art director is Jiří Macek, co–owners of the festival organising agency Profil Media.
Superstudio is a space for exhibitions of companies, manufacturers and shops. Superstudio presents novelties of Czech and international manufacturers, presenting products created in cooperation with top designers. All areas of design are presented here, especially furniture, lighting, and home accessories.
Openstudio is a space for expositions of designers, design studios, students, and schools. Laboratory of contemporary design, where product designers, fashion designers, jewelry designers, graphic designers, and illustrators present themselves. Primarily exhibitions of prototypes and small batch production without the participation of a commercial manufacturer.
This year, for the first time, the Fair Trade Palace, the largest exhibition space of the National Gallery Prague, and for the third time the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague will come alive with Designblok. The theme, which has traditionally been the conceptual link of the entire festival, for the jubilee edition of the festival is JOURNEY.
The Trade Fair Palace will focus primarily on the presentation of contemporary international design innovations in the traditional formats of Superstudio and Openstudio – international brands and manufacturers on the one hand, designers, design studios and school studios on the other. In the Trade Fair Palace you will also find the next edition of the international exhibition and fashion shows Diploma Selection, the thematically themed central exhibition Designerie or the stage offering daily educational lectures, industry discussions and other accompanying programmes.
The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague will follow up the success of previous exhibitions with a curatorial exhibition Family Silver, organized in cooperation with Forbes magazine. The presentation of family businesses will tell inspiring stories of entrepreneurial tenacity, golden Czech hands, the rescue of traditional factories and craft workshops and the growth of newly established brands that have emerged over the past decades. In addition, Openstudio will premiere a special High Craft exhibition this year, organised in collaboration with Vogue CS magazine. The curated selection will showcase leading Czech designers and design studios that artfully combine traditional craftsmanship, innovative approaches and the highest aesthetic standards in their work. You will also find here the Art House exhibition – an exposition on the border between art and design.
Designblok is traditionally attended by dozens of galleries, showrooms, pop-up shops, and stores that prepare their own themed program and special events for visitors during the festival. The exhibitions in their own space are offered by small and large brands, but also by Prague art schools, which exhibit the work of graduates and students in their space. Museums that exhibit and collect designs also participate.
Designerie is the heart of Designblok. It's the central space of the entire festival, the concept is created by different designers every year. This creates an oasis and a meeting place that underlines the theme of the festival. For last year's 24th edition of Designblok, the vibrant architecture of the Designerie inspired by the FOREST theme was created by the duo MY DVĚ (Monika Matějková & Veronika Watzková).
New wave of Czech porcelain. A summary of the most interesting works of recent years as well as completely new works created directly for the main exhibition of last year's Designblok. Curator: Radek Wohlmuth, exhibition architecture: Maxim Velčovský.
The exhibition was prepared in cooperation with Forbes magazine, which every year compiles a ranking of Czech family businesses where the decision-making and brand philosophy is in the hands of the family owners. The stories of saving ancient factories are mixed with the stories of brands that have been newly created on greenfield sites. But what they have in common is precision manufacturing in the Czech Republic and love of Czech craftsmanship. The exhibition can be found on the 2nd floor of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.
Roots versus present. Intervention of contemporary designers in the exhibition Collector. Lann's Glass Collection at the Museum of Decorative Arts. Curators of the exhibition: Jana Černovská and Jan Mergl, curator of the intervention: Danica Kovářová. Art House of the 24th edition of Designblok.
A joint presentation of Ukrainian designers and design studios curated by the IHOR studio at the 24th edition of Designblok. Exhibitors: FAINA, Gunia Project, Gushka Wool, Oksana Levchenya, Re:Quiet, Serigraph Studio and ZHERNOV Artifactory.
The final of the international diploma competition in product and fashion design. 30 future stars from several European countries in an exhibition and fashion show. The project is developed in cooperation with EUNIC.
They still study, but you can already hear about them. Every year, Designblok presents a selection of talented young students as part of the Openstudio.
