Designblok opens across Prague with light as central theme

Prague’s largest design and fashion festival opens to the public today, bringing exhibitions, installations, talks and runway shows to major cultural venues across the capital.

The 28th edition of Designblok features 368 exhibitors and brands from 24 countries. This year’s central theme is “Light,” explored through contemporary objects, historical exhibitions and installations examining illumination in both literal and symbolic forms.

The festival runs through Sunday, Oct. 11, at the Prague Castle Riding School, Trade Fair Palace, Industrial Palace, Museum of Decorative Arts and other locations across Prague. Most principal venues are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., closing at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Two major exhibitions have opened at the Prague Castle Riding School.

Design for Václav Havel recalls efforts to transform Prague Castle after the Velvet Revolution under the country’s first post-communist president. Havel invited architects, artists and designers to help make the historic complex more open and accessible to the public.

The larger High Craft exhibition presents work by approximately two dozen leading Czech designers. Exhibits include a new glass collection from Klimchi, lighting objects by Artglass and Maxim Velčovský’s Photosynthesis vase collection.

Designblok is also entering the deconsecrated Chapel of the Holy Cross at Prague Castle for the first time. The space houses Circle of Silence, an installation by designer, architect and educator Eva Eisler.

Eisler was inducted into the Czech Grand Design Hall of Fame last year in recognition of her influence on Czech art and design since 1989.

Hundreds of established European designers, manufacturers and emerging talents are exhibiting at the Trade Fair Palace. The venue’s participation also allows the National Gallery Prague to introduce the functionalist building and its collections to festival visitors who might not otherwise attend.

The recently renovated Industrial Palace at the Prague Exhibition Grounds serves as another principal venue. It hosts the Designblok Talks conference and fashion shows featuring finalists in Diploma Selection, an international competition for graduate designers.

The professional conference began Oct. 6 and continues today, with discussions and presentations by Czech and international speakers.

Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, known internationally for furniture, interiors and decorative objects, will receive Designblok’s award for outstanding contribution to global design Thursday.

Festival installations also extend outside the main venues. In front of the Industrial Palace, visitors can see Hexo, an interactive play structure designed by students from Tomas Bata University in Zlín.

Additional schools and galleries are participating across the city, including the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design at its Technology Center on Mikulandská Street.

The Museum of Decorative Arts, meanwhile, is examining the history of lighting through exhibitions devoted to forgotten Czechoslovak designs from the 1950s through the 1980s and the early years of electrification.

Designblok’s wider program includes galleries, studios, showrooms and design shops in neighborhoods including Holešovice and Karlín. The official festival website provides an interactive map and daily schedule for visitors planning routes between venues.