Last time we were at Designblok Prague the roof blew of the venue.
Not our fault (this time); but the consequence of an enormous, monstrous in every sense of the word, hurricane that blew across central Europe, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake that meant it took us, if we recall correctly, about 15 weeks to get home. And that via one of the more adventurous and improbable routes we've ever travelled.
On the plus side we spent so long in Prague Central Station listening to announcements of cancelled trains we can now pronounce 'České dráhy' like natives. Or at least like parrots forced to listen to 'České dráhy' on constant loop over a railway station tannoy for days on end.
That was 2017. And since then we've not been back. Not for fear of hurricanes, but simply calendar clashes and then came, well you know, 2020 and that.
2024 we're back at Designblok Prague.......
Established in 1999 as a, by all accounts, we weren't there, relatively small event with just 14 exhibitors, over the intervening quarter of a century Designblok, a.k.a. Prague International Design Festival, has grown to a decentral event at locations across the city, a formal component of the festival extended and complimented by satellite events and in-store presentations/showcases.
A festival that in addition to curated platforms and presentations by companies, collectives, and individuals from across a wide range of design genres, also features a great many student works both as international design school presentations and also in context of the annual Diploma Selection competition, an international competition, or perhaps better put, two international competitions, one for Product Design students, one for Fashion students, both judged by an international jury, the 2024 Product Design jury being headed by Tulga Beyerle, Director of Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg.
And a festival staged in 2024 under the theme Youth.
We remember it fondly. Although the memory of it is fading ever faster.
And youth of which a great many were to be found in the festival venues on the opening morning. We're not sure if it's compulsory that all Prague school/college students must attend Designblok on the opening morning, and that they all turn up at exactly the same time, but they all appeared to be there, wandering in endless chains through the rooms munching merrily on the free popcorn one of the exhibitors was distributing by way of promoting their new cinema/theatre chair. A mechanical, monotone, almost soporific mass viewing of Designblok that doesn't mean that none of the youth learnt anything from the experience, that none of them received new insights, the none were stimulated to investigate a subject for themselves, or indeed that they didn't all began to appreciate design as more than something to be visually consumed on Instagram, if the regularity with which the very obvious, very deliberate, photo motifs, photo traps, were snapped implied otherwise. Just meant it was really hard to tell what they thought, what was happening within them, as they wandered incessantly, emotionless, from room to room. Munching.
And us?
We didn't munch, our ageing digestive system can't handle popcorn that early, but as we wandered we did regularly stop, reflect, chat, reflect some more, observed the march of the youth, and in the coming days and weeks we will bring you some of our reflections on some of those works and projects and positions experienced, and some of our reflections on Designblok Prague 2024.
And for all in or near Prague, be you youth, youthful or otherwise, Designblok 2024 can be experienced at numerous locations throughout the city until Sunday October 6th. Full details including venues, opening times and ticket prices — no we don't like ticket prices at design weeks, we like design weeks that are free, where there is no barrier to visiting, no easy excuse not to, no implication that design is for those who can afford it and not for the universal all it needs must be, is there no-one in the Czech Republic who can unselfishly and without ulterior motive fund Designblok to enable a free festival, it would be brilliant if there was.....
Full details can be found at www.designblok.cz
Josef Tomšej – My Daughter’s Room
Linda Procházka and Jive Lau – Dreamer’s Garden
Adam Kvaček – The Paradox of Isoëtes. Future of Almost Lost Species
How many house plants are enough house plants? by Kateřina Husáková
