Grand Inauguration of Silesian Project June
On Thursday, June 5, 2014, the official inauguration of the Silesian Design June took place at Dobroteka. The meeting was opened by Dobroteka's Creative Director Jan Cegiełka and President Rafał Desczyk. Attendees included representatives from the Academies of Fine Arts in Wrocław, Katowice, and Kraków, Cieszyn Castle, the Institute of Art in Opole, the Contemporary Art Gallery in Opole, the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology, Poznań International Fair, Łódź Design Festival, the Secondary School of Fine Arts in Opole, as well as representatives of media patrons and regional authorities.
The meeting initiated a series of activities to be held this June in Opole, Lower, and Upper Silesia, aiming to improve the functional and aesthetic quality of the human environment by stimulating demand for design services and their professional execution.
The meeting began with a presentation of the activities of Cieszyn Castle, which has been advocating since 2005 for the use of design as an effective tool to enhance the competitiveness of companies, institutions, cities, and regions. Next, Ms. Monika Wietrzyńska, representing Poznań International Fair, presented Arena Design as the only place in Poland where producers and designers can meet. Subsequently, Mr. Michał Piernikowski introduced Łódź Design Festival as a combination of ideas, people, and actions promoting the achievements of Polish design. Prof. Irma Kozina's lecture made participants aware that while there isn't "Silesian design," there is "design in Silesia."
Ms. Natalia Bomba-Ciosek from the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology presented the "Sweet Selfie with Good Design" competition. This photography competition aims to promote interesting places and products in Silesia and events creating the Silesian Design June. The competition is open to broad public participation and is an element that binds together design promotion activities in Silesia.
During the meeting, participants of the Sculpture Plein-Air, which began in Dobrodzień on June 4, were introduced. This included a visit to a sawmill and the selection of materials for creating utilitarian sculptures as "The most valuable form of wood processing." As early as Monday, June 9, from 11:00 AM, during the open days of the plein-air, visitors will be able to get acquainted with the work of its participants and the sculptural concepts that the authors intend to realize in Dobrodzień during their 2-week stay. The final result of their work will be shown at a working exhibition at Dobroteka on June 18 at 3:00 PM.
At the end of the meeting, guests were invited for a glass of wine during the vernissage of diploma works by students of the Design Faculty of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, under the guidance of Dr. hab. Marek Liskiewicz in the New Product Design studio. The design works were created in cooperation with Dobroteka with a new furniture collection in mind. The exhibition can be viewed at Dobroteka until the end of July this year.
