The director of the second Wroclove Design International Good Project Festival, Wioleta Król, said at a press conference that the purpose of the festival is to domesticate the concept of “design” - which, for many, is still unknown and distant.
Our festival is to show that design is more than just aesthetics. The important thing is the philosophy that guides the creation of the object and the thought hidden behind it. Wroclove Design is a creative response to the mediocrity of commercial mass production - said Wioleta Król.
The festival features several themed zones, including Design + Crafts, Design + Technology, Design + space, Kids Design. The event is accompanied by a seminar on Design for business.
One of the exhibitions showcases the WRO neon (a piece of the old WROCLAW CENTRAL neon from the main railway station), which is one of 45 historic light advertisements that were saved thanks to the Neon Side Wrocław foundation. After many years of effort, Neon Side, together with the municipal company Wrocławska Rewitalizacja (Wroclaw Revitalization), are working on creating a place where these neon signs can be enjoyed every day - both inside a gallery and outdoors. Renovation of the site is currently underway.
Its location isn’t accidental - previously, the now-defunct Reklama advertising company had its headquarters there. For half a century, it produced all of the neon signs which illuminated city streets and towns throughout not only the Lower Silesia region, but also Warsaw and other provinces.
The organizers also thought of people with disabilities. All events which take place within Wroclove Design are translated into sign language. At every information desk, volunteers and guides are available to help blind and deaf people with communication during the festival. The Design without Barriers presentation also shows projects created with a view to bridging obstacles faced by disabled people on a daily basis.
Design is not a trendy gadget. It is an object designed to be friendly to every user, young and old, with or without a disability. Good projects build the world wisely, a world without boundaries, open. – explained Małgorzata Koralewska, the festival programme director.
14-18.05.2014
Sources: PAP, Wroclove Design, own materials, ed. AS, 14.05.2014, translated: Katarzyna Maksimiuk, 16.05.2014