This year’s edition of Łódź Design Festival will take place from 21-26 May. The organisers have prepared a programme which will seek to answer the questions: what is comfort in today’s world? Is it just a matter of physical comfort or is it something more? Can everyone afford it? Here are the strongest points of the 18th edition of the festival.
Etymologically, the word comfort derives from the Latin ‘confortare’, meaning ‘to strengthen very’, which originally had to do with a sense of empowerment and support. This issue, in the context of the evolution of domestic life, is explored in the book ‘Home. A Brief History of Ideas’ by Witold Rybczyński. The author notes that in the Middle Ages, the concept of comfort was virtually non-existent – everyday life lacked privacy and sanitary facilities. A significant change only came with the bourgeois lifestyle in 17th-century Holland. The contemporary understanding of the issue expands to include aspects of ease of living, pleasure and amenities, which are a relatively recent phenomenon in human history.these considerations become particularly relevant in the context of increasing social conflicts, progressive climate change or a global mental health crisis. The need for a new view of comfort has therefore become one of the most important issues in the social debate.
Leitmotif of Łódź Design Festival
The upcoming 18th edition of the Łódź Design Festival, to be held from 21 to 26 May 2024, takes the slogan ‘Comfort’ as the central point of exploration. The organisers of the festival invite you to immerse yourself in the various aspects of this concept, showing how contemporary design responds dynamically to the changing needs of society. – We are now living in a constant search for satisfaction and well-being, and accelerating change is presenting us with new challenges. During the upcoming edition of the festival, we will discover how comfort penetrates far beyond traditional physical comforts to encompass subtle elements such as harmony, peace of mind and the individual needs of users. We will show that a properly designed environment not only promotes well-being, but also reflects our unique identity and desired lifestyle. Thus, at the festival we will touch upon such topics as, for example, the influence of nature on our health, ways of shaping the space of contemporary cities or the cultural and social senses of consumption,’ emphasises Michał Piernikowski, director of Łódź Design Festival.
The festival programme will also include elements that have been appreciated by the public for years:
- make me! – an international competition which selects the best projects by female artists of the young generation. The accompanying exhibition is a kind of picture of the world of the near future
- must have – a plebiscite and exhibition presenting the best domestic utility implementations, which also provides an opportunity to meet representatives of the Polish creative industry
- open programme – presentation of exhibitions and events from an open call addressed primarily to institutions, curators, artists and designers
- Archiblok – a block of expert presentations and discussions, devoted to current topics in the field of architecture and urban planning
- Educreation – dedicated to families with children, a space for creative fun and learning regardless of age, status or knowledge
Festival atmosphere
Established in 2007, the Łódź Design Festival is currently regarded as one of the most important events dedicated to broadly understood design, which is confirmed, among other things, by its long-standing membership of World Design Weeks (established on the initiative of Tokyo Design Week, an international network bringing together the best events of this kind in the world). Last year’s edition of the festival was visited by 20,000 people and involved more than 500 designers, researchers or social scientists, curators, curators and cultural animators. The LDF presents projects that combine artistic and social activities and comment on the most important challenges of the contemporary world, and its wide range of themes covers design fields such as graphic design, craft, industrial design, fashion and architecture.
Łódź Design Festival is not only an event conducive to the integration of the creative industry, it is above all a unique opportunity to discover debuting talents and learn about new directions of the world around us. The festival exhibitions and events are an opportunity to spend some interesting time with close friends and family.- The festival itself is brilliant and I was proud to be a part of it. But more importantly, the people I met were so enthusiastic and fascinated by what I was sharing that they really got involved and took something useful away with them,” confirms Terry McStea of Design Network North, a presenter of one of the workshops at ŁDF2023, who will also be visiting the festival in 2024.
At the heart of the event is the main festival hub – the industrial space of the Art_Inkubator at the Art Factory in Łódź. However, valuable exhibitions, fascinating presentations, artistic installations and venues accompanying the festival are also spread out in other corners of the city.
Must have poll
Creative people, active in the field of design, have the last chance to submit their proposals under the ongoing calls for proposals for selected parts of the ŁDF2024 programme – the must have plebiscite (call until 15.02.2024, details HERE), the open programme (call until 15.03.2024) and the make me! competition (call until 05.04.2024). The first names of the finalists will be announced soon, as well as the list of exhibitions and events selected for this year’s LDF. Details can be found out by following the website www.lodzdesign.com.
source: organiser’s materials
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