The theme of this year’s Gdynia Design Days festival is “Closer”, an invitation to focus on what is real, local and meaningful. This year’s edition is a collection of stories that simplify complexity, strengthen relationships and showcase design as a tool for building a better everyday life, but also for fun. It is in this spirit that the festival programme has been prepared, based on closeness, community and responsible design.
During the 9 days of the festival (20–28 June), there will be exhibitions, talks, themed walks, meetings and workshops, creating a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences for designers, researchers and all enthusiasts of social and urban issues.
Below is a preview of selected exhibitions from the dozens of events planned:
The contemporary discourse on sustainable fashion has accustomed us to questions about ecology and production ethics. However, a fundamental design challenge remains in the shadow of these debates: accessibility. Eliza Gawrjołek’s LUKA exhibition-laboratory invites reflection on the theme of adaptive fashion in Poland.
Paweł Błęcki’s exhibition Spiders is a contemporary reinterpretation of the tradition of handicrafts, situated between memory, the experience of community and creative practice understood as a form of mindfulness and relationship. Drawing on techniques he learnt as a child from his grandmother—related to the creation of traditional spiders and decorative ornaments—the artist develops them into monumental, spatial forms made of wood and plywood. These works are an attempt to recapture the experience of collaborative work and closeness that have accompanied handicraft practices for generations.
The Together exhibition is a story about design, in which the key moment is the encounter – establishing a relationship with the future user of the product. The exhibition presents photographs of meetings, processes and tests – moments in which designers engage with future users. We showcase the people who co-create these processes and the designers who seek to understand their experiences through direct contact. The result of these activities are products found in our everyday surroundings. The exhibition presents selected projects and profiles of designers from the SPFP Design Association, for whom meeting the user is the starting point for design. The exhibition is curated by Ewa Hiller, with the SPFP Design Association as the exhibition partner.
TheZero Waste Lab exhibition by Mozi Studiopresents prototype furniture and lamp designs made from 100% biodegradable PHA and PHB biopolymers. The exhibition demonstrates how sustainable design can respond to the industry’s contemporary challenges, whilst also drawing on the concept of responsible innovation. The exhibition highlights the importance of collaboration between design and science, and the creation of projects that combine functionality, aesthetics and environmental awareness.
Castceramics is an international ceramics exhibition showcasing the work of 12 female artists from six countries, created during a month-long artist residency in Poland, Italy and Austria. The exhibition presents a variety of approaches to ceramics – from technological experiments to contemporary interpretations of cultural heritage and local traditions. The exhibition highlights the importance of international cooperation, intercultural dialogue and creative engagement with history and culture.
Agata Nowak is preparing a product exhibition entitled Doing Nothing, dedicated to the value of… boredom and doing nothing. How can we reclaim a skill we have lost in a society that promotes constant productivity? The exhibition examines design as a tool that can support the recovery of this lost skill. The concepts and initiatives on display propose a variety of strategies for letting go.
Desire Paths is a project by Agata Kiedrowicz, Patrycja Żyżniewska and Dawid Fik, born out of a longing for carefree moments and the experience of pleasure in the creative process. It is both a picnic set and a party game. It encourages celebration and frolic, following ‘lines of desire’ and exercising the imagination.
As part of this year’s edition of Gdynia Design Days, for the first time the festival audience will be able to attend the final project presentations by Design students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. The final projects will be presented during open, public presentations, and the accompanying exhibition will remain open for the entire duration of GDD. The exhibition will offer a close-up look at what the new generation of creators has to say about contemporary design.
Living Forms: Symbiosisis an artistic and educational project by the TWÓR Association of Applied Arts, dedicated to the relationship between design, the city and nature. At first glance, the objects on display resemble autonomous sculptures, but their purpose is to support biodiversity in urban spaces. The objects serve as habitats for wild pollinators, shelters for hedgehogs and small animals, and as drinking troughs or feeders. They are crafted from materials such as ceramics, Jesmonite, glass and wood, with a respect for the craftsmanship and the process.
During GDD, the project will be displayed both outdoors, which is its natural environment, and indoors, where the public will be able to view these forms in an exhibition and educational context.
Antyaltana is an installation by Reni Maj, an outdoor ornament created especially for GDD. It is a stopping point, a safe meeting place, and at the same time an element that divides the space into fragments, generating individualised ways of perception and distinct experiences. The eclectic form, in a state of constant transformation, raises the question: Closer – but how?
Kuba Święcicki’s inclusive exhibitionTouch the City. Gdynia presents textile typhlographics designed out of a fascination with Gdynia’s metalwork. It is primarily dedicated to blind and visually impaired people, whilst for sighted visitors it provides an opportunity to examine the intricate architectural details that usually go unnoticed in everyday life. The objects on display were created using machine embroidery and as tactile graphics made from flock foil, forming part of a research project in which touch functions as an alternative tool for exploring the environment, and the project itself is developed within the context of accessible design and initiatives promoting equality, accessibility and well-being.
The exhibition ‘Furniture Design: Futuro Classic’ presents seating designs resulting from a project carried out within the Furniture Design Studio at the Faculty of Architecture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, led by Dr Filip Ludka, Eng. Arch., and Sonia Jarczyk, MA. In the academic years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026.
The green spaces will also feature an installation by Aleksandra Godlewska, Błazenada – Statue of Joy, or Monument to Carefree Play. In honour of fun, in tribute to frolics, in homage to pranks and mischief.
Descriptions of all exhibitions are available at: https://gdyniadesigndays.eu/wystawy and the programme itself also includes a wealth of other events, such as lectures, walks and themed meetings. Another highlight that attracts particular interest every year is the workshops. This year, participants will have the opportunity to try their hand at activities dedicated to, amongst other things, tailoring, upcycling, collage and copyright. Special events will also take place in the PPNT studios open during GDD (including Edyta Barańska Design and Eve Wysocki Design).
In 2026, the festival will take place at the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park and at partner venues across the city from 20 to 28 June, during which time Gdynia will once again become a space for discussions on design, the city and relationships. News and programme details will be published on the website www.gdyniadesigndays.eu and on the festival’s social media profiles.
Organisers of Gdynia Design Days: Gdynia, Pomeranian Science and Technology Park Gdynia,
Gdynia Design Centre
Gdynia Design Days 2026 | Closer
20–28 June
PPNT Gdynia | Design Centre
Pomeranian Science and Technology Park Gdynia
source: press materials
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