“The Clothed Home” Exhibition in Seoul – Polish–Korean Artistic Collaboration

The exhibition The Clothed Home – the result of a Polish–Korean artistic collaboration – has opened at the Seoul Museum of Craft Art (SeMoCA). Ten artists explore the concept and practices of sustainable housing culture in the context of climate change, drawing on the textile craft traditions of both countries. The exhibition, co-organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, will run from 26 August to 19 October 2025. 

Polish–Korean Artistic Collaboration in Seoul – A Textile Story of Climate and Home

The Clothed Home exhibition is a unique artistic exchange project between Korea and Poland, repositioning traditional textile crafts in the context of contemporary challenges related to climate change and architectural design. It emphasises a sustainable approach to living spaces. Ten artists from both countries present works that reinterpret ancient textile craft traditions.

At the heart of the exhibition is the encounter between two traditional residential cultures, shaped by different systems of dividing the year: the Korean 24 jeolgi (solar terms) and the Polish 12 climatic seasons. The artists demonstrate how textiles – once an essential element of protection against cold, heat, and light – can now offer responses to the contemporary climate crisis and the search for balance with nature.

“The Clothed Home” Exhibition in Seoul. Photo: Kuba Celej / AMI

Hanok and Lizhnyk in One Museum – A Clash of Housing Cultures at the Seoul Exhibition

The Korean section, titled Breathing with the Seasonal Light, highlights the organic relationship between the hanok, a traditional Korean home, and textiles that respond to subtle seasonal changes. A highlight of the exhibition is Piljeong – a three-room hanok specially designed and built inside the SeMoCA by architect JANG Youngchul. Traditional textiles harmonise with the hanok’s architecture, evoking the refined aesthetic of the changing seasons. The interior of the resulting pavilion was designed by three artistic teams:

• KO Somi – installations made of hanji paper and sambe hemp for the windows and roof, using the jumchi technique to create a base and decorative layer of hanji that changes appearance depending on the light, time of day, and season;
• KIM Young – a presentation of hwijang, traditional Korean curtains made using eunjosa and nobangju (Korean silks), inspired by the structure of badae – the reinforcements in traditional hanbok garments – creating a space open to the landscape and subtly connecting the interior with the surroundings;
• Onnubi (KIM Eunju and BAE Gangrye) – nubi  quilts and modern versions of mulyeomja, traditional Korean curtains, as functional and aesthetic fabrics adapted to contemporary lifestyles.

 “The Clothed Home. Breathing with the seasonal light”

• Artists: KIM Young, Onnubi (KIM Eunju, BAE Gangrye), KO Somi
• Architect: JANG Youngchul
• Curator: HWANG Hyerim
• Exhibition design: KANG Jin-young
• Coordination: KIM Minjung, SIM Minjeong, Lee Dajung

“The Clothed Home” Exhibition in Seoul. Photo: Kuba Celej / AMI

Design Inspired by Nature and Tradition – the Textile Exhibition “The Clothed Home”

The Polish section, Tuning in to the Seasonal Imagination, presents architectural practices using fabrics adapted to the unique cycle of the 12 climatic seasons of Central Europe. In Seoul, these materials represent a modern revival of traditional Polish textile techniques, which – in the days before electricity – were used to “dress” buildings and regulate the temperature and aesthetics of interiors.

At the centre of the exhibition is a kilim depicting a clock of the seasons with their assigned colours. The artists have arranged a “winter room”, dominated by thicker materials and warm hues, and a “summer room”, with transparent fabrics in cool blues and malachites. Among the works on display, pieces inspired by practical home solutions with distinctive functional names predominate. The visitors can see, among others: a podpinka – a fabric hung from the ceiling in winter to make it easier to heat the room; a narzuta – a bedspread used on various pieces of furniture, made of lizhnyk, a thick, hairy fabric; a chodnik – a runner marking paths for use; a muchołap – a fly curtain made of fabric cut into strips and hung in the doorway; or a baldachim – a canopy hung over the bed, shading it.

The works of Polish artists premiered at the 2021 London Design Biennale in the Polish Pavilion organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Since then, The Clothed Home has been presented in numerous exhibition spaces: the Design Biennale in Ljubljana, the Architecture Triennial in Lisbon, the National Museum in Kraków, the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, and the Arka Gallery in Vilnius. In 2025, a new installation was created specifically for the Korean edition of The Clothed Home exhibition. “Path for a Visitor to the Space Between Heaven and Earth” is the result of a collaboration between the artist Kim Minsoo and a Polish team. Made from traditional Korean textiles crafted from natural materials with varying textures and porosities, the work invites viewers to experience the changing seasons.

“The Clothed Home. Tuning in to the Seasonal Imagination”

• Exhibition concept and design: CENTRALA (Małgorzata KUCIEWICZ, Simone De IACOBIS)
• Artists: Alicja BIELAWSKA, KIM Minsoo
• Curator: Aleksandra KĘDZIOREK
• Craftspeople: In Weave (Beata WIETRZYŃSKA), Folk Art Wijata, Lazy Studio (Klaudia FILIPIAK), Spółdzielnia Pracy Rzemiosła Ludowego i Artystycznego “Koronka–Bobowa” (Agata KRÓL, Danuta MYŚLIWIEC, Jadwiga ŚLIWA), Zenovia SHULHA
• Visual identity: Anna KULACHEK
• Photos and film: Michał MATEJKO
• Choreography: Marysia STOKŁOSA

“The Clothed Home” Exhibition in Seoul. Photo: Kuba Celej / AMI

How Do Fabrics Inspire Architecture and Sustainable Living? Accompanying programme for the exhibition in Korea

SeMoCA has also prepared a series of events accompanying “The Clothed Home” exhibition:

• 6 September 2025 (Saturday): Workshops with Polish designers on traditional housing culture, followed by a seminar with representatives from both countries.
• 13 September 2025 (Saturday): Hands-on workshops at Ko Somi’s studio, where participants will create their own hanji diffusers.
• 19 September 2025 (Friday): A lecture by master craftswoman Ko Somi on her artistic practice.

All events are free of charge but require registration via the museum’s website: craftmuseum.seoul.go.kr.

“The Clothed Home” Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea – Practical Information

• Dates: 26 August – 19 October 2025
• Location: Seoul Museum of Craft Art (SeMoCA), Information Building and 1st Floor of the Exhibition Building No. 1, Seoul, South Korea
• Organisers: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Seoul Museum of Craft Art, Seoul Metropolitan Government
• Partner: Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Seoul