For the context of the Back to Front, imagine life behind the Iron Curtain after the Yalta Conference. Poland’s most creative minds found themselves living in a country that could only dream of national independence and freedom of expression. The great international fairs and exhibitions provided a refreshing sense of open-mindedness and an opportunity to interact with diverse visions from around the world. Constrained by political propaganda and economic considerations, they produced a new architectural code for exhibition design. Formal research was incentivised by the sheer lack of items on display. Exhibition structures had to compensate for this lack and a new expressive architectural language was born. This included paintings, sculpture, design and graphics – all innovatively combined to play an important role in exhibition layouts.
As described by exhibition curator, Katarzyna Jeżowska, Polish exhibition design during the inter-war period was known for its unprecedented multi-disciplinary style. It was brought to life by a small yet vibrant community of designers, applied arts experts, filmmakers, photographers, artists, graphic designers and musicians.
Milan Design Week brings international visibility to this unique form of expression, inviting visitors from around the world to reconsider contemporary exhibition architecture and to gather future ideas from this extremely fertile moment in the history of exhibition design. Back to Front will open to the public on April 17th at La Triennale Museum in Milan.
Organiser: Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Curator:Katarzyna Jeżowska
Graphic Design: Marian Misiak
Exhibition Design: Marcin Kwietowicz
The project is organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute operating under the Culture.pl brand as part of POLSKA100, the international cultural programme accompanying the centenary of Poland regaining independence.
Financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as
part of the multi-annual programme NIEPODLEGŁA 2017-2021.
Source: press materials, compiled by NR, Apr 2018