How to design well while supporting the local community? Are care and emotions important in building new spaces? How do concepts such as safety, social responsibility and recycling pertain to design, and is there a perfect way to bring abandoned neighbourhoods back to life? Local and grassroots – these key words will be the focus of the first instalment of the interdisciplinary Design in Krakow project, during which experts and residents will meet at the Design Pharmacy to explore the new role of the designer in creating a safe, modern and participatory space. The events will be held on 11-12 November and 25-26 November and they are available free of charge, although tickets are required. The project is part of the city’s “Sztuka do Rzeczy – Design w Krakowie” initiative.
“It is not only a series of meetings and lectures, but also a platform that fosters debates and brings together the design community,” says Carolina Pietyra, director of the KBF. “Designing objects, spaces, but also processes plays an important role in our daily lives, which is why we invited various representatives of the world of design to work together to develop tools that will help us build things for the community. This project aims at raising awareness of socially responsible design decisions. Our understanding of design is broad, and the debates take place in a unique space – the Design Pharmacy. This is a new space on the map of Wesoła, which is becoming an inspiration and a space for activists, sociologists, anthropologists and designers thanks to programmes such as “Design in Krakow”..
Meetings with Design will be a weekend series of lectures and encounters with industry experts creating new projects, as well as focusing on revitalising neighbourhoods, buildings and creating an engaged COMMUNITY around them.
During the first weekend, 11-12 November, participants will have the opportunity to attend lectures revolving around the concept of locality , understood as a set of processes that support and create communities. The invited speakers will talk about how to create a new reality in such uncertain times, how to design well, giving abandoned neighbourhoods new life, and whether social mission, emotion and concern should influence new projects. On the first day of the event, the organisers will also host the Social Responsibility of the Designer debate, whose participants will try to find an answer to the question of the social mission that should guide designers in the 21st century.
The second block of events will comprise meetings around grassroots activities. Guest speakers on 25 and 26November will talk about the community and individuals taking initiatives, making decisions and carrying out projects that affect their local environment and surroundings. Saturday afternoon will feature a social book exchange prepared by the Ogniwo Cooperative – available to all, even without tickets or passes – and will end with a discussion accompanying the Polish release of Basile Michel’s book published by Wysoki Zamek and KBF. On Sunday, 26 November, the initiative will host lectures focused on participatory design of public spaces, urban environments from a grassroots perspective, as well as recycling and employer branding in the design world. The event will end with a debate about the future of the design festival in Krakow.
All lectures and debates will be streamed on KBF’s YouTube channel.
The full programme of the event can be found here.
All events take place at the Design Pharmacy (Kopernika 19A), unless otherwise noted in the description.
Free tickets will be available for download at www.kbfbilety.krakow.pl and on the app KBF: PLUS:
- Starting on 6 November at 12:00 p.m. (for the weekend of 11-12 November)
- Starting on 20 November at 12:00 p.m. (for the weekend of 25-26 November)
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The project is part of the “Sztuka do Rzeczy – Design w Krakowie” initiative. Craftsmanship, tradition, art, design – these themes are the focus of the initiatives proposed in this year’s sixth edition of the project, which will run from 4 – 30 November 2023.
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If you are a media representative interested in attending lectures and debates, please let us know and send us your selected events by 7 November at the latest.
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The event is organised by: The City of Krakow and the KBF
Design Pharmacy is partnered by: Kraków City Development Agency, Galeria Kazimierz., Nowy Styl, Homla and Dobra Palarnia Kawy.
RSVP to our Facebook event:
Weekend of November 11-12 https://www.facebook.com/events/1071781867522143
Weekend of November 25-26 https://www.facebook.com/events/868285591494139
