This year's slogan of the festival directly and metaphorically refers to the coastal location of Gdynia. A STORM is a phenomenon which conjures a multitude of associations and interpretations. The 10th Anniversary edition of Gdynia Design Days will be devoted to the possibilities brought by the destructive turmoil, the possible consequences and effects as well as to building anew.
When a storm approaches, we experience anxiety. We are irritated and we question the world order and the reasoning behind every action. When it finally arrives, we shelter inside our homes and we wait until it passes. We are afraid of its destructive power. The howl of the wind, the thunders roaring in the night’s sky and the whirr water… The end of the world seems to be near. But when the storm passes, the world seems to be born anew. Clean, shining and full of hope. The sea takes some things away and washes others ashore. It lets us see the old things with fresh eyes. Accept some changes… and dare to make new ones. The issues from before the storm are put into proper proportions.
We want the annual festival, a joyful celebration which we organise right before the summer, to be a storm. Not in the destructive sense, but rather as a creative force generating the need for changes. A force of nature after which nothing remains the same. We want the festival to be a time of transformation and purification, a time for discoveries and great beginnings.
Many activities of such nature are undertaken in Gdynia, the host of the festival. Other examples, coming from the outside, will be welcomed and shown in Gdynia at exhibitions, workshops, seminars and lectures.
Our storm will bring you inspiration from the other side of the Baltic Sea and from the depths of the land, because openness, exchange and intermixing of cultures are characteristic not only of Gdynia, a port city, but of contemporary design.