This is the first book written in any language that is solely dedicated to the exploration of the Young Poland (Młoda Polska) movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Published as part of the 2021 exhibition Young Poland: An Arts and Crafts Movement (1890–1918) hosted at the William Morris Gallery in London, the book explores parallels between this Polish art and design movement and the revolutionary ideas of the British Arts and Crafts movement.
Edited by Andrzej Szczerski, the director of the National Museum in Kraków, and Julia Griffin, an art historian, the book includes numerous chapters showcasing information about all aspects of the intriguing artistic output of the Young Poland movement.
Divided into two parts, ‘The Making of the Polish Arts and Crafts Movement: Key People, Places and Ideas’ and ‘Objects and Craft Practices in Focus’, the publication covers all the most important ideas of this intriguing movement. The chapters are illustrated with a selection of photographs showcasing, for example, mural designs, design sketches alongside the finished projects, as well as the artists themselves. Visual evidence complements the fascinating texts, making the topics that are explored easier to comprehend.
If you are reading this article, then you most likely know what culture.pl is. The website’s story starts with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Founded in 2000, the institute’s role is to promote Polish culture abroad and to an international audience. Culture.pl was launched in 2001, not long after the founding of the institute, and over the two decades of its existence became the biggest website dedicated to Polish culture. The website reaches around 10 million readers every year from 80 countries, making it one of the leading vehicles for celebrating and popularising Polish heritage, design, architecture, cuisine, film, literature and music among wider, international audiences.
You will not run out of things to read about as there are around 40,000 articles in Polish, English, Ukrainian and Russian spanning a wide array of topics. The articles link to contemporary issues and topics of urgency, relating them to Polish culture. It has a great database of articles about Polish designers, both historic and contemporary, such as Lubomir Tomaszewski, a renowned ceramic designer and sculptor; Julia Keilowa, a sculptress who designed pieces for Poland’s first transatlantic ship; and Oskar Zięta, a leading contemporary Polish designer and inventor of the innovative FiDU manufacturing technique. The website’s various authors based all around the world share a multitude of perspectives and information with you.