Marta Lisok to Curate the Polish Exhibition at the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2027

Marta Lisok has been selected to curate the Polish presentation at the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2027 in the Republic of Korea. Her project “Sheltering Gestures” won a closed competition for a curatorial concept organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, which is responsible for preparing Poland’s participation as the event’s Guest of Honour. The exhibition will showcase the diversity of contemporary Polish craft, while inviting reflection on how working with materials, traditional techniques and artistic practices can strengthen human bonds and build community.

The Cheongju Craft Biennale is one of the world’s most important events devoted to contemporary craft, attracting an average of 300,000 visitors per edition. Its 15th edition will take place from 2 September to 31 October 2027 under the theme “Back to Human”, raising questions about the significance of manual work, the human senses and direct experience in a world increasingly shaped by new technologies.

“Sheltering Gestures” – Polish craft as a space of care and connection

The winning concept, “Sheltering Gestures”, presents contemporary Polish craft in all its diversity – from traditional techniques and materials to experimental practices at the intersection of craft, design and contemporary art. The exhibition starts from a reflection on the role of craft not only as a way of making objects, but also as a carrier of knowledge, memory, emotions and social relationships. An integral part of the exhibition will be an extensive programme of accompanying events, including workshops, performances, discussions and participatory activities.

Marta Lisok’s concept won the recognition of the competition committee, which praised its curatorial maturity, coherence and excellent selection of artists. The jury paid particular attention to the skilful combination of traditional techniques with contemporary artistic practices. One of the project’s greatest strengths was considered to be the multisensory nature of the exhibition, which is intended to engage visitors through touch, sound, smell and space. The jury also highlighted its strong communication potential and its ability to attract a broad international audience.

– The theme of next year’s Cheongju Craft Biennale, “Back to Human”, raises the question of humanity’s place in a world increasingly shaped by new technologies. Marta Lisok’s concept fits perfectly into this reflection, showing that craft has a great deal to tell us not only about the past, but also about the future. I believe that the Polish exhibition will be not only an exceptional presentation of our culture, but also an important voice in the international debate on how we want to live, create and build relationships in a changing world – says Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Chair of the competition committee.

The Polish exhibition will be an integral part of the Biennale programme, in dialogue with its main exhibition and curatorial framework. In the next stages, the winning concept will be developed in cooperation with a South Korean partner and curator, taking into account the local context and the potential to deepen Polish-Korean artistic dialogue.

The jury also gave a distinction to Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk’s concept “Back to the Future. The Time of the Hand”, which was granted reserve project status. The committee praised the exhibition’s clear structure, combining historical and contemporary perspectives on craft, manual work and the human relationship with materials. It also highlighted the project’s strong educational potential and its carefully developed implementation plan.

Competition committee

The competition committee comprised representatives of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Cheongju Craft Biennale, as well as independent experts in art, craft and design:

• Dr Olga Wysocka – Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Chair of the committee
• Ye-sung Kim – Artistic Director of the Cheongju Craft Biennale
• Dr hab. Magdalena Kochanowska – designer, researcher and curator of design exhibitions, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
• Dr Michał Szymko – art historian, exhibition curator and researcher of contemporary art and the culture of Central and Eastern Europe, assistant professor at the University of Warsaw
• Barbara Krzeska – Head of the Programming and Production Department at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute
• Małgorzata Miśkowiec-Florczak – project coordinator at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute

Poland as Guest of Honour at the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2027

Poland’s participation as Guest of Honour at the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2027 marks the next stage of the long-standing cultural cooperation developed by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in the Republic of Korea. On 3 September 2026, at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Seoul, Dr Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and Shin Byung-dae, Vice-Chair of the Cheongju Craft Biennale Organising Committee and Deputy Mayor of Cheongju, signed a memorandum of cooperation.

Under the agreement, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute is responsible for preparing the Polish presentation in the Guest of Honour programme. However, the cooperation is long-term in nature – it envisages the development of artistic exchange beyond the Biennale, as well as activities supporting the presence of Polish craft in Korea and Korean craft in Poland.

The Institute has been active in the Republic of Korea since 2009. Over the past 12 years, it has organised more than 250 events spanning the visual arts, craft and design, theatre, film and music. Of particular significance was the programme prepared in 2024 to mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Poland and the Republic of Korea.

A year earlier, works by Polish artists – Alicja Patanowska, Beata Legierska, Justyna Smoleń and Marcin Rusak – were presented at the Cheongju Craft Biennale for the first time.

The long-term nature of the cooperation is also confirmed by agreements concluded by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute with the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, the Seoul Museum of Art and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. In September 2026, the exhibition “Rites of Passage”, curated by Paulina Olszewska and presenting works by Polish and Korean artists, opened at the Polish Pavilion during the Gwangju Biennale. It remains on view until 15 November.

Poland’s presence as Guest of Honour at the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2027 creates a further opportunity to present contemporary Polish craft and design to international audiences, and to develop new relationships between artists and institutions in both countries.

About the curator

Dr Marta Lisok – curator, art historian and critic, lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, where she has headed the Department of Theory and History of Art since 2023. She graduated in art history from the Jagiellonian University and in philosophy from the University of Silesia.

She has curated dozens of exhibitions presented at venues including the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, KODE in Bergen (with Tim Parry-Williams), Bunkier Sztuki in Kraków, the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, the Polish Institute in Düsseldorf, BWA Katowice and OP ENHEIM in Wrocław.

She has organised academic conferences, including “Nasłuchiwanie” (“Listening In”, 2024), “Grzyby i inni. Ku symbiocenowi” (“Fungi and Others: Towards the Symbiocene”, 2025) and “Urszula Broll. Pejzaże jeszcze dalekiego świtu” (“Urszula Broll: Landscapes of a Still-Distant Dawn”, 2025). She has edited publications on contemporary art, including “Fungi and Others. Towards the Symbiocene” (2026), “On or out the grid” (2022) and “Głębokie słuchanie” (“Deep Listening”, 2019). She has received scholarships from the Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. She is a member of the Programme Councils of the Silesian Museum and the Rondo Sztuki Gallery in Katowice.

In her curatorial practice, she focuses on the anthropology of the senses, treating art as a tool for exploring and anticipating future forms of sensory experience. She is the author of the book “Osmofuturyzm. O zapachu i bezużytecznym spojrzeniu” (“Osmofuturism: On Smell and the Useless Gaze”), published in 2026 by Bęc Zmiana.