Closing event of of the exhibition BEAUTIFUL WORK

27.09.2023


On 26 September 2023 the Prague House hosted the closing event of the Exhibition Beautiful Work, presenting the works of the students of the Prague Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design.

The guests had the unique opportunity to take a guided tour and to discuss and learn more about the project directly from the young artists. A part of the event was also a small workshop on the processing of the cattail given by Adam Kvaček.

"Our project presents the results of the collaboration between the „Beautiful Work“ Project and the Product Design Studio / D3 at Prague's UMPRUM. The individual projects reflect the current attitudes of design students towards the craft tradition, as well as their approaches to the rehabilitation of the craft genre and its inclusion among competitive products on the current market, which is precisely what the Beautiful Work Project strives for.

This colaboration follows six-months of the work of students who documented their personal approach to using traditional craft motifs in their projects. The D3 Studio used the opportunity created by this cooperation not only to design new products into which traditional craft approaches could be applied but, above all, as a vehicle by which to think about the future of traditional crafts as such and overall. The students searched for possibilities by which to combine craft concepts with design as a comprehensive discipline that can offer varied solutions and raise stimulating questions. The fusion of academic endeavours thus provided a space in which to create works that have the potential to influence the future of the preservation of traditional crafts in the long term, and not just its use for decorative purposes, as crafts are often perceived today. In considering the preservation of craft traditions, it is necessary to explore not only the technological limits of individual crafts, but to use them in the production of products with a contemporary face. In order for a craft to become timeless and its practices to be sustainable into the future, it is necessary to find its place in the present and to think critically about its strengths and weaknesses."

Exhibitors: Sofia Artemeva, Tereza Bláhová, Miloslav Chytil, Ivo Jedlička, Sára Kučerová, Adam Kvaček, Jan Lechner, Mikuláš Procházka, and Karolína Vintrová

Curator of the exhibition: Adam Kvaček

Pedagogical leadership: Michal Froněk and Jan Němeček (Heads of the studio), Michal Malášek (assistant professor)

Production, and installation design: Adam Kvaček, Ivo Jedlička, and Jan Lechner

Graphic design: Oskar Koutný

The exhibition was a part of the Brussels Design September Festival.

The event was accompanied by DJ Chris the Dancer.