There was a huge old factory in Warsaw where a varied group of artists and other professionals, mostly creative, shared its divided spaces. In 2018, however, the entire building was sold to a real estate developer and all its tenants had to be evited.
Artist and ceramist, Olga Milczyńska who had spent years working in the old factory’s premises, explains how they tried to stop that outcome, but the authorities’ negative was final: individuals don’t hold enough power unless they formally join forces. Everyone had to leave their studios and find new places where to keep on developing their trades. But since this event, the importance of uniting and collaborating became very obvious in Olga’s mind. That was when NÓW started.
NÓW is a collective of around twenty designers and craftspeople based in different areas of Poland, promoting their handmade objects. There is often a debate around where the boundaries between art, craft or design stand. The answers can be somewhat subjective, but there are very clear characteristics that define NÓW and the current Polish craft scene. Olga confirms that what is being created within their group is very original, but can also represent what is being made nowadays in Poland.
Repetition is precisely one of the key elements that gives this project’s name: NÓW is a Polish word that means new moon. Not only as a metaphor for describing the resurrection of crafts, but also, as the moon does, it is in permanent evolution, there is always change and novelty.
