Alicja Patanowska and leading Polish graphic designers at the London Design Festival 2025

Visual artist and potter Alicja Patanowska, together with prominent contemporary Polish poster creators Ola Jasionowska, Patrycja Longawa, Kaja Renkas, and Maja Wolna, will present their works at the Victoria and Albert Museum – the world’s largest museum of applied art, craft, and design. The ceramic installation and overview of the contemporary Polish poster scene will be on display from 13 September 2025 as part of the London Design Festival, which brings together leading designers from around the world and ranks among the most important events in the design industry. The participation of Polish artists in the London Design Festival is part of the ongoing UK/Poland Season 2025, co-organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the British Council, and the Polish Cultural Institute in London, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

“The Ripple Effect” – a ceramic installation by Alicja Patanowska at the Victoria and Albert Museum for the London Design Festival

The London Design Festival, held annually in London for the last 22 years, is one of the most important global events in the world of design, attracting an international audience of practitioners, retailers, and educators. It plays a key role in the development of the design industry and is widely recognised as a premier platform dedicated to design in the world.

Alicja Patanowska, whose previous installation “We Are the Weather” was presented in the atrium of the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels as part of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU’s foreign cultural programme, returns with a new project, “The Ripple Effect”. In this work, Patanowska explores the consequences of daily consumption and the long-term impact of natural resource extraction on the environment and social relations.

The installation, designed as a seat for the garden of the V&A Museum, will be positioned at the edge of a pond and equipped with a fountain. The installation brings visitors closer to the element of water and encourages reflection on our complex relationship with natural resources. The materials used in “The Ripple Effect” come from one of Europe’s largest mining waste deposits, located in Żelazny Most in south-western Poland. Two thousand handmade ceramic tiles, eight of which are covered with copper, visualise the intricate connection between mined waste and materials suitable for use in industrial mining processes.

“The Ripple Effect” project was initiated by Carrie Chan, curator at the V&A Museum, who oversees the contemporary art programme and artistic projects aimed at revitalising museum spaces. The installation will be on display in the John Madejski Garden of the V&A Museum from 13 September to 19 October 2025. A special accompanying event The Ripple Effect – 5Rhythms Wave Workshop will take place on Friday, 19 September 2025. Led by Nikki Ashley, the workshop is a 45-minute movement session held in the John Madejski Garden, inspired by Patanowska’s installation. The artist will guide participants through a dance wave that mirrors the rhythms of water, encouraging a deep connection with both the body and the essence of water as a vital source of life. The event begins at 18:30.

„The Ripple Effect”

• Artist: Alicja Patanowska
• Dates: 13 September – 19 October 2025
• Location: John Madejski Garden, V&A South Kensington
• Tickets: Free admission
• Accompanying event: 19 September 2025, 18:30 – The Ripple Effect – a 5Rhythms Wave Workshop
• This installation is part of the London Design Festival.
• The Polish Cultural Institute in London is a partner in presenting Alicja Patanowska’s project at the museum.

Polish Posters Now! Polski Plakat Dziś! – works by four outstanding graphic artists at the London Design Festival

The exhibition “Polish Posters Now! Polski Plakat Dziś!” will present some of the finest examples of contemporary Polish poster art by Ola Jasionowska, Patrycja Longawa, Kaja Renkas, and Maja Wolna during the London Design Festival. The Victoria and Albert Museum will showcase 16 works by these artists, selected by Zorian Clayton, curator of graphic arts at the V&A, who specialises in 19th- and 20th-century prints, posters, and ephemera. The exhibition will not only introduce London audiences to the latest trends in Polish poster design, but also highlight the prominent place it occupies within the European art scene, continuing the tradition of the Polish School of Posters, renowned for its concise style, economy of form, and communicative power. 

The featured works represent a wide range of movements and approaches within contemporary poster art. Four posters by Ola Jasionowska were chosen from the dozens she created as artistic director for the Capital City of Warsaw. Her works address diverse themes, from urgent social issues to campaigns promoting parks, festivals, and landmarks in Poland. Her style recalls the golden age of Art Deco travel posters. Jasionowska is best known internationally for designing the red lightning bolt symbol that became the visual emblem of the Women’s Strike movement. 

Patrycja Longawa has received more than 120 awards at international poster biennials and serves as a professor of graphic design in Rzeszów. Working primarily with digital tools, she has produced numerous posters promoting Polish poster galleries and exhibitions. Her designs reveal the influence of Hubert Hilscher (1924–1999) and his imaginative circus posters of the early 1970s, such as the celebrated image of a balancing lion created for the Dydo Poster Gallery.

Kaja Renkas carries forward the surrealist currents strongly rooted in the Polish poster school of the 20th century, while also evoking the spirit of Max Ernst through her combination of anatomical, zoological, and mechanical illustrations sourced from antiquated books. Despite these resonances, the artist emphasises that her inspiration derives not directly from other creators or movements, but from the industrial landscapes of Silesia, where she was born and where she now teaches at the University of Silesia, in the Department of Virtual Space and Video Game Design. 

Maja Wolna is known for her vivid portraits, part of a series portraying cultural icons from across the arts. With a few bold strokes of black paint, she sketches striking likenesses that embody her belief that posters are “mental shortcuts” – designed to be instantly legible and to capture attention amid the visual noise of the urban landscape. Alongside her artistic practice, Wolna is a professor of graphic design in Poznań, where she educates the next generation of designers.

"Polish Posters Now! | Polski Plakat Dziś!" exhibition

• Artists: Ola Jasionowska, Patrycja Longawa, Kaja Renkas, Maja Wolna
• Curator: Zorian Clayton
• Dates: 13 September 2025 – 8 February 2026
• Location: Design 1900–Now Gallery (Room 74a), V&A South Kensington
• Tickets: Free admission
• Accompanying event: 19 September 2025, 19:00 & 20:15 – Curator-led tours during which Zorian Clayton, Maja Wolna, and Kaja Renkas will share insights into the contemporary Polish poster scene.
• This presentation is part of the London Design Festival.

UK/Poland Season 2025

UK/Poland Season 2025 is a cultural programme of unprecedented scale, featuring several dozen events across multiple cities in both Poland and the UK. Running until November 2025, the season marks a new chapter in bilateral cooperation, revitalising cultural dialogue and strengthening existing ties between the two countries. For residents of both countries, it offers a unique opportunity to explore the most exciting artistic phenomena from both sides – encompassing film, theatre, visual arts, design, and music. In Poland, the events are organised by the British Council, while in the UK – by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute, and the British Council. The organisation of the Season in the UK and Northern Ireland is supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland. 

The program launched in March 2025 simultaneously in Poland and the UK. In addition to Alicja Patanowska’s installation, the visual arts program within the UK/Poland Season 2025 includes a series of events showcasing the contemporary Polish art scene. From 13 September, the Radical Hope exhibition, featuring works from the Second Collection of the Arsenał Gallery in Białystok, will be on view at Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast. On 2 October, an exhibition of Polish photography will open at Belfast Exposed Gallery as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival. On 9 October, Zofia Rydet: Sociological Record, dedicated to one of the most important photographic projects of the 20th century, will be presented at The Photographers’ Gallery in London. Finally, from 31 October, the Planetary Consciousness: Ecosystems of Care exhibition, addressing themes of ecology and collective responsibility, will be shown at the School of Digital Arts in Manchester.