Visiting Artist: Jana Zielinski and Jiří Macek

We are delighted to welcome the founders of the Czech arts festival Designblok to address our art and design students in the second of this semester's talks

Jana Zielinski and Jiří Macek are founders and producers of the Designblok, Prague Design and Fashion Week festivals.

Designblok is an annual international design festival founded in 1999. Every autumn it presents works of Czech and international designers, brands, design studios and schools, located in Prague's most important stores and galleries.

The centre of attraction is traditionally the Designblok Superstudio and Openstudio, situated in exceptional architectural structures within Prague. In an area of more than 10,000 square meters  special installations are presented by manufacturers and designers from around the world.

Since 2006 Jana and Jiří have also been producers and organizers of the Czech Grand Design Awards, an annual awards ceremony recognizing the extraordinary work of designers in any given calendar period. Czech Grand Design Awards are awarded in nine categories: Designer of the Year, Fashion Designer of the Year, Jewellery Designer of the Year, Graphic Designer of the Year, Photographer of the Year, Store of the Year, Manufacturer of the Year, Discovery of the Year, Hall of Fame, and Grand Designer of the Year. The winners are chosen by votes of the Academy of Design of the Czech Republic in three rounds.

As if they had not had enough of design, Jana and Jiří established the Czech brand Křehký in 2010. Křehký aims to continue the tradition of old Czech handicraft and applied arts, enriching our homes with objects that transform everyday moments into exceptional ones. Each Křehký collection is created in collaboration with leading designers from all over the world. The brief is the same for all designers – create an object which you would personally appreciate and would like to give to somebody. All Křehký objects are made in traditional Czech factories.