All design and fashion enthusiasts, attention! The 22nd year of the Prague international festival Designblok is approaching. However, it will be different in many ways than we remember.
This year, the festival will take place from October 7 to 11 in the historic area of the former monastery of St. Gabriel. Czech manufacturers and designers will present their creations, and we can look forward to 263 exhibitors in total.
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Květiny, pult a lidé v maskáchSource: facebook.com/designblok
What is the director of Designblok Jana Zielinski looking forward to the most regarding this year's festival? That they would even open it, she replied with a laugh. Measures against coronavirus are changing almost overnight and it is not easy to estimate what the situation will look like in two weeks. However, according to current information, restrictions should not affect cultural events. And that's why Zielinski is looking forward to getting people acquainted with the new projects of Czech designers.
"We have never experienced such a challenge as we are experiencing this year. We decided not to give up this year because we think that Czech design deserves support. The designers and manufacturers did not give up either and decided to continue their work,"
Zielinski explained.
Pronájem bytu 3+kk - Praha 1 - 108, Praha 1
Show property
222 ladders
The main theme of this year's festival will be passion - for design, for craftsmanship and for a job well done. The centre of the festival - Designeria - was designed by Jan Plecháč. It will be located in the cloister of the former monastery, where paradise garden used to be.
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Prostor ambitu bývalého kláštera svatého GabrielaSource: Designblok
"I found it nice to bring back the paradise garden here,"
explained designer Jan Plecháč. He wants to achieve this with an architecture built of 222 ladders with a pop-up paradise garden. The stepladder will then be auctioned on the spot and the money will go to a charity project. Plecháč's main motto was not to produce and not to throw away:
"It's a very common thing that you can use, it doesn't have to be custom made and then it can continue to serve as an ordinary item that everyone has at home and that won't be thrown away after the show."
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Neonové srdceSource: facebook.com/designblok
Limited-time tickets and sectors
Getting to Designblok will not be just as easy this time. The space of the Church of St. Gabriel will be divided into several sectors with separate entrances.
And how will it work? The exhibitors will be evenly divided into sectors A and B. If the visitor wants to enter the given sector, they must buy a ticket for 150 crowns and choose a specific time slot. The ticket is valid for two hours. So if the visitor wants to catch both parts, including the outdoor exhibits and the Art House in nearby Musaion, they should set aside about 5 hours. The festival will include two stages with an accompanying program too; the program will also take place in showrooms and studios around Prague.
