The exhibition Young Poland: An Arts and Crafts Movement, co-organised by the National Museum in Krakow, has won the Curatorial Exhibition Prize awarded by the Association for Art History, the most important association of art historians in the UK.

The exhibition at the William Morris Gallery in London featured more than 120 objects of the Young Poland movement, ranging from paintings, drawings, and photographs to the finest examples of furniture, embroidery, kilims, lace and artistic ceramics, as well as everyday objects of the material culture of the Podhale highlanders, which had a huge impact on the national revival of crafts. Iconic artefacts were juxtaposed with works by lesser known but equally original artists, who deserve to be appreciated in Poland as much as abroad.

Organised as part of the ‘Young Poland: The Arts and Crafts Revival Movement, 1890-1918’ project, the exhibition showcases the unique artistic crafts and architecture of the Young Poland era. It was the first opportunity to introduce Polish art from an era hugely popular in the UK to the British visitors.

The project ‘Young Poland: The Arts and Crafts Revival Movement, 1890-1918’ was the result of a collaboration between the National Museum in Krakow, the William Morris Gallery and the Polish Cultural Institute in London. The project was co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the Inspiring Culture programme.

The aim of the Curatorial Exhibition Prize is to honour curators of temporary exhibitions who successfully bring the results of art history research to a wider public. The key factors influencing the selection of the awarded exhibition projects are the originality of the exhibition concept, the significance of the accompanying research and the inspiring nature of the presentation and narrative to the public.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński