Objects. Gallery of Polish Design of the 20th and 21st Centuries

From graphic design through fashion and furniture to computer games – the most interesting examples of Polish design of the last 120 years are presented at the permanent exhibition Objects. Gallery of Polish Design of the 20th and 21th Centuries.

For the first time in a permanent exhibition, the National Museum in Krakow shows the most important achievements of Polish design, appreciating its significance and distinctiveness from both the fine arts and crafts. We present objects of everyday use, which are now considered to be cult items, as well as outstanding works of Polish designers, which have permanently entered the canon of Polish design.

At the exhibition you can see exhibits from the times of Young Poland, through modernism and the avant-garde in the Second Republic, the times of the Polish People’s Republic to the present day. Separate rooms are devoted to poster art and fashion. The timeframe chosen makes it possible to appreciate the achievements of the creators of the first Polish associations of designers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (Towarzystwo Polska Sztuka Stosowana [Society of Polish Applied Arts], Warsztaty Krakowskie [Krakow Workshops]), and at the same time to emphasise that the achievements of the 20th century and the decades of transformation after 1989 are of key importance to us today.

The presentation of these 350 objects is a prelude to the future activities of the new NMK branch in the former Cracovia hotel.


Curators: Andrzej Szczerski, Magdalena Czubińska, Alicja Kilijańska, Bożena Kostuch, Joanna Kowalska, Monika Paś
Designer: Magdalena Paleczna
Coordinator: Olga Pawlak