14.5.–15.5. 2026
9th International Design Conference & 16th Review of Student Design
AGRAFA 2026 – Cycles
This time, we would like to invite you to explore the multidimensional meaning of cycles in the world of design. We focus on a systemic approach to design, where every action generates complex reactions in interconnected areas. Our attention is centered on sustainable development and the circular economy, as well as natural cycles as a source of inspiration for contemporary design. The event reflects on the iterative nature of the design process and the role of time in design, exploring the tension between linear and cyclical perceptions of reality. We pay particular attention to the balance between technology and nature, and the role of the designer as a conscious agent of social change.
The event will consist of:
- an international conference
- an international review of student design
- a conference for young designers – students and doctoral students
- consultations, exhibitions, and workshops
AGRAFA’26 programme
Workshop before conference
11.5.–14.5.2026 | ASP Katowice, ul. Raciborska 50, Kino
Workshops for students enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice or on a design course at another university within the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis.
3-days workshop
11.05 Monday 9.00–14.00
12.05 Tuesday 9.00–14.00
13.05 Wednesday 9.00–14.00
The aim of the “Data Narratives: From data to stories” workshop is to inspire students to create stories based on data analysis. Workshop participants should demonstrate an interest in data visualisation and storytelling, as well as possess basic experience and knowledge of video editing tools.
During the workshop, students may work individually or in small teams of up to three people. The choice of workshop project topic is left to individual students or teams and should align with their interests, passions and current activities.
The challenge for workshop participants is to tell a unique story based on data. The exploration begins with finding an interesting and compelling set of data on a chosen topic. During the data analysis, participants must uncover the unique story hidden within it and tell it in the form of a short film.
ASP in Katowice, ul. Koszarowa 19, room 111/112
Registration: https://forms.gle/MjsYYJ7qCKdvcLtZ7
The project “Jan Kubasiewicz. Technological Determinism | Educational Series” was co-financed by the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis as part of the Metropolitan Science Support Fund programme.
Young Agrafa – 14.05. 2026
14.05.2026 12 p.m.–3.45 p.m. | ASP Katowice, ul. Raciborska 50, Kino
Please note! The event is open to everyone; no registration is required. The lectures will be delivered in English. All lectures will also be interpreted into Polish and Polish Sign Language.
12 p.m. Introduction
12.05 p.m.–12.15 p.m.
How to be a designer in the world of uncertainty? Liminality
Kinga Klisz
12.15 p.m.–12.25 p.m.
Tool or catalyst? A critical analysis of AI agency in project-based teaching
Marianna Czwojdrak
discussion
12.40 p.m.–12.50p.m.
Beyond the 100 x 70
Aleksandra Kortas
12.50 p.m.–1 p.m.
The Cycle of Doom of State Design – how does design’s reputation make you wait longer for a doctor appointment?
Tadeusz Niziołek
1 p.m.–1.10 p.m.
Interrupting the silence: the cycles of feminist interventions in public space
Wiktoria Słowik
discussion
1.15 p.m.–1.45 p.m.
Rebellion as a strategy for visibility. Can art raise public awareness of the situation faced by deaf and hearing-impaired people?
Agnieszka Kołodziejczak
coffee break
2.10 p.m.–2.20 p.m.
Re-design in the real world
ZIW – Zespół Interwencji Wizualnej
2.20 p.m.–2.30 p.m.
Symbiotic design. Can furniture grow roots?
Julia Korzec
2.30 p.m.–2.40 p.m.
Creating a Welcoming Student Guide: Between Legibility and Emotion
Jaroslava Onokhina
discussion
2.45 p.m.–2.55 p.m.
Designing Your Path – Insights from Working Abroad
Agnieszka Wagner
2.55 p.m.–3.05 p.m.
From Ideas to Impact: Social Design & Collaboration
Oliwia Zypser
3.05 p.m.–3.15 p.m.
Back to the Future: How Design Reinvents Itself
Amelia Trzaska
dyskusja
3.45 p.m. Closing of the Conference
Opening of 16. review AGRAFA’26 – 14.05.2026
Galeria Rondo Sztuki, Rondo im. gen. Jerzego Ziętka 1, Katowice | 6 p.m.
Conference Agrafa’26 Cycles – 15.05.2026
Please note! The lectures will be delivered in English and Polish. Simultaneous interpreting will be provided. All lectures will also be interpreted into Polish Sign Language.
Conference Agrafa’26 Cycles | ASP Katowice, ul. Raciborska 50, Sala Otwarta
| 8 a.m. | Registration |
| 9 a.m. | Opening of the conference |
| 9.15 a.m. | From Brief to Image: The creative process behind a global project Guillermo Flores Pacheco illustrator | MX |
| 9.45 a.m. | Storytelling in Pictures – realism in practice. Attending to feelings and relationships throughout people’s lives Sheila Hollins London University, Books Beyond Words | GBLucyna Talejko-Kwiatkowska University of the Arts in Poznań | PL |
| 10.15 a.m. | Observing the invisible (with Aléa Work) Stella Lee Prowse Aléa Work | AU |
| 10.45 a.m. | Design Nomad Anna Orska jewellery designer | PL |
| 11.15–11.30 a.m. | discussion led by Justyna Szklarczyk-Lauer |
| 11.30 a.m. | — coffee break — |
| 12.15 p.m. | Shaping understanding: an iterative approach Enrico Bravi University of Arts, Linz | IT |
| 12.45 p.m. | »b+c+d=a« Andreas Uebele Büro Uebele | DE — Andreas Uebele’s participation in the AGRAFA’26 Cycles conference is funded by the Goethe-Institut  |
| 1.15 p.m. 1.45 p.m. | Marianna Paszkowska discussion led by Zofia Oslislo-Piekarska |
| 2.15 p.m. | — lunch — |
| 3 p.m. | Communication design and its discontents – a lecture free of charge, open to everyone Jan Kubasiewicz Dynamic Media Institute, Massachusetts College of Art and Design | US—The project “Jan Kubasiewicz. Technological Determinism | Educational Series” was co-financed by the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis as part of the Metropolitan Science Support Fundprogramme.  |
Workshops after conference – 15.05.2026
15.05.2026 4–6 p.m. | ASP Katowice, different locations
The workshops are free of charge, but places are limited. Priority will be given to those registered for the AGRAFA’26 Cycles conference. Others will be able to register after 31 April 2026.
workshop
Anna Pohl | ASP Katowice
15.05. Friday 4–6 p.m.
This is an invitation to come together through movement, breath and presence — a meeting in which the body becomes a space for listening, and relationship becomes a space for renewal. Drawing on the wisdom of mycelium and a regenerative approach to being, we will use body-based practice to explore empathy, interdependence and flow. We will sit with what is sometimes uncomfortable, so that it may transform and nourish something new. Embracing the cyclical nature of experience, we will create a space in which tension, stillness and change can become sources of knowledge, connection and vitality. This is a workshop about being in relation — with your body, with others, and within a process — where we learn from one another and renew our energy through mindfulness, movement and shared experience.
Please bring comfortable clothing!
ASP w Katowicach, ul. Raciborska 50, courtyard
workshop
Piotr Kuźmiński | MiSacrum
Małgorzata Rozenau | ASP Katowice
15.05. Friday 4–6 p.m.
This two-hour session brings together conscious breathing techniques — drawing on pranayama and yoga — with the sounds of therapeutic relaxation instruments. Led by Małgorzata Rozenau in collaboration with Piotr Kuźmiński (MiSacrum), the workshop aims to deepen participants’ relationship with the breath as the simplest and most accessible tool for relaxation and self-regulation. Expect breathing exercises, guided relaxation, and a visual reflection exercise — as well as stress reduction and a state of deep calm during the sound bath.
ASP w Katowicach, ul. Raciborska 50, room 217
workshop
Piotr Pacałowski, Joanna Pastusińska | ASP Katowice
15.05. Friday 4–6 p.m.
This workshop explores the creative potential of waste materials in the design of new products. Participants will have the opportunity to produce their own reclaimed material from scratch, which they will then use to make a small, biodegradable plant pot. Along the way, they will discover the properties of these kinds of materials — including their capacity to retain moisture. The workshop also invites reflection on the alternatives to widely-used plastic plant covers and their environmental impact. The finished pots can be used to grow plants, giving participants a tangible sense of the full cycle — from waste material to a functional, biodegradable object.
ASP w Katowicach, ul. Raciborska 50, Model Workshop
workshop
Bogdan Kosak | ASP Katowice
15.05. Friday 4–6 p.m.
The tangible outcome of this workshop will be a vessel — though not necessarily one whose form makes its purpose immediately obvious. The real aim is to experience the application of one’s own inner, embodied knowledge. After being introduced to five different types of clay and selecting the one that speaks to them, participants will spend an hour modelling a vessel with their eyes closed, guided purely by intuition. They will discover how important it is to work with a material — to truly “listen” to the clay rather than imposing a preconceived idea or shape upon it. The workshop invites reflection on the potter’s practice and on the concept of mētis itself: that moment when it is the hands alone — with their own memory, directed solely by touch — that do the knowing.
ASP w Katowicach, ul. Raciborska 50, outdoor workshop space
workshop
Jadwiga Lemańska | ASP Katowice
15.05. Friday 4–6 p.m.
Participants will have the chance to bind their own A5 notebook from start to finish. You’ll be able to choose from a variety of papers and create either a soft cover from card or a sturdier textured cover, before stitching the whole thing together with thread in the traditional booklet style. To finish, you’ll use a type-setting press to emboss or print selected typefaces — or a short text of your own choosing — onto the cover of your finished notebook.
ASP w Katowicach ul. Koszarowa 19, Bookbinding & Typesetting Studio
workshop
Filip Ciślak | ASP Katowice
15.05. Friday 4–6 p.m.
A workshop dedicated to calligraphy and lettering using a brush pen. During the sessions, we will focus on an original and contemporary interpretation of script, rooted in the foundations of Western calligraphy. We will analyse the structural relationships between letterforms, visual rhythm, and the question of formal consistency, comparing the characteristics of a flexible brush with those of a traditional broad-edged tool. The workshop will give you a solid foundation for further work, whilst also serving as a form of creative play and a chance to breathe.
ASP w Katowicach ul. Koszarowa 19, room 207
Related events
Guest workshops and presentations
4.11.2025 | ASP Katowice, ul. Raciborska 50, cinema
A very broad, sweeping lecture, designed to cover as many topics as possible. It begined by stating that everything was a cycle, moved on to list activities that were not cycles, and concluded by asserting that, in fact, nothing was a cycle. On cycles within cycles, unknown and fabricated cycles, forced and metaphysical cycles.
8.12.2025 lecture | ASP Katowice, ul. Raciborska 50, cinema
8.–9.12.2025 workshop | ASP Katowice, ul. Raciborska 50, library
During his lecture and workshop, Thales Molina presented techniques for visualising data and combining units with visual elements to create narratives. Participants learnt how to apply best design practices through illustrations, collages, patterns, charts and other elements, whilst maintaining their own style and character.
18.3.2026 | ASP Katowice, ul. Raciborska 50, cinema
This talk explores how the concept of the future functions today as an affective trap in design and the culture of change. Rather than opening up space for genuine transformation, the figure of the future acts as an object of promise that sustains exhaustion, postpones responsibility and stabilises existing arrangements.
Drawing on Lauren Berlant’s category of ‘cruel optimism’, Émile Durkheim’s ‘anomie’ and the permanent ‘shock of the future’, the talk demonstrates how a linear orientation towards the future diverts attention from the tensions of the present.
As an alternative, it proposes magical realism understood not aesthetically but epistemologically: as a way of thinking and designing that suspends the vision of progress, allows for contradictions, and permits the coexistence of the rational, the affective, and the inexplicable. Magical realism thus becomes a tool for contesting the present – a strategy for emerging from the interregnum.
20.4.2026 12.30 p.m. | ASP Katowice, ul. Raciborska 50, cinema
The lecture challenges the comparison of the design process to a circular process. It draws on empirical evidence from a variety of methodological approaches, which share cyclical and iterative characteristics but differ in their methods of planning and shaping the course of processes. Cyclicality and the negative consequences of circularity are discussed using examples. An analysis of selected cases provides further evidence that design is not merely about providing answers, but also about the ability to ask questions. This is particularly significant in the context of designers’ new roles: moderating and initiating social change.
Speakers
The organisers of the AGRAFA’26 CONFERENCE would like to thank everyone who responded to our invitation and submitted proposals for presentations on the topic of CYCLES. Applications came from various parts of Poland, Europe and the world – Austria, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and Mexico. We were impressed by your professionalism and your unique and inspiring approach to visual communication and design.
The conference’s scientific committee, consisting of:
Dr hab. Justyna Kucharczyk, Prof. ASP
Dr hab. Jacek Mrowczyk, Prof. ASP
Dr hab. Agnieszka Nawrocka, Prof. ASP
Dr hab. Zofia Oslislo-Piekarska, Prof. ASP
Dr hab. Anna Pohl, Prof. ASP
Dr hab. Justyna Szklarczyk-Lauer, Prof. ASP
selected two speakers based on the close relationship between the proposed topic and our main themes, as well as taking into account the need to present a variety of topics, media and methods. They are: Enrico Bravi and Guillermo Flores Pacheco.
Discounted accommodation with our partner Hotele Diament:
Hotel Plaza Diament Katowice****
Park Hotel Diament Katowice****
Hotel Diament Arsenal Palace****
Location: the conference will be held at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, in the Open Hall in the building at 50 Raciborska Street.
Review
Thank you to everyone for your submissions! From the 190 entries received, we have selected 48 projects to be showcased at the exhibition at Rondo Sztuki. The jury will select the winners from this group.
In the selection process, we focused on design as a tool for solving real-world problems. We appreciated projects based on solid analytical foundations and an interesting process, which emphasise practical implementation within the social fabric. In the submitted works, we noticed a great deal of curiosity in taking on new challenges and the courage to develop a unique visual language.
We highlighted, among other things, excellent examples of waste utilisation. Witty projects engaging people also received recognition, where simple form is combined with craftsmanship, and the physical object is well-made.
In graphic design and digital systems, we prioritised maturity, a systematic approach and openness to experimentation, which allows one to move beyond repetitive patterns whilst maintaining the utmost attention to detail.
Congratulations to all. See you soon!
Selection jury
| name | name – cooperation | school / university | title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Białoń Wojciech | Alicja Hałat, Jadwiga Dardzińska | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie | „Toolup” – kamizelka dla konserwatora malarstwa |
| Bołtowicz Paweł | Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie | Opracowanie graficzne wayfinding’u i identyfikacji wizualnej Instytucji Kooperatywa Łaźnia. | |
| Borusiński Jan | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach | Karmnik kula | |
| Bugaryn Bartosz | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie | Seria okładek do książek polskich pisarzy science-fiction | |
| Bury Kamila | Uniwersytet im. Komisji Edukacji Narodowej | Identyfikacja Wizualna oraz Strona WWW zespołu „Hulajniki” | |
| Dąbrowska Wiktoria | Uniwersytet Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie | Zwolnij Oddech | |
| Dmytrenko Dawid | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki | MODULAR TYPE SYSTEM | |
| Dykszak Emilia | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | Epidemia samotności | |
| Gładysz Aleksandra | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Eugeniusza Gepperta we Wrocławiu | Dlaczego w Hiszpanii porzuca się tysiące chartów? Ilustracja reportażu podcastu Działu Zagranicznego w formie zina | |
| Hłond Laura | Laura Hłond, Dominika Afeltowicz, Mikołaj Świętochowski, Nikola Przymus, Paulina Barańska, Pola Misiun, Weronika Korzep | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Gdańsku | Projekt pokrywy studzienki kanalizacji sanitarnej lub deszczowej dla miasta Gdańska |
| Hornowska Maja | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | Magazyn a/z | |
| Hornowska Maja | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | Magazyn dkf | |
| Juchnik Marta | Edyta Honkisz | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach | TravelBuddy – projekt aplikacji mobilnej do zakupu biletów autobusowych. |
| Juchnik Marta | Volha Vaitovich, Anastazja Zelenskaya | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach | Projekt trzech kaset zespołu System Of A Down, w którym kaligrafia i alfabet ormiański stają się punktem wyjścia do zwizualizowania muzyki. |
| Khamashta Lamar | Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem | Way of the Chair | |
| Klisz Kinga | Muzyka: Krzysztof i Jonasz Iwaniccy, Marcin Oleś | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach | Sto lat! – animacja (mapping) na budynku Muzeum Etnograficznego w Krakowie |
| Koczy Marta | Kamila Grela, Martyna Hamryszczak, Martyna Tyszko | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki | Logostworek – system pomocy logopedycznej |
| Koczy Marta | Kamila Grela, Martyna Hamryszczak | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki | Konstrukcja wszechświata i harmonia życia wg Timajosa Platona. Interpretacja typograficzno-papieroplastyczna w formie broszurowej |
| Kortas Aleksandra | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | Figle | |
| Kortas Aleksandra | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | POSTHER | |
| Kowalska Zuzanna | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | Espamory – karty do nauki hiszpańskiego | |
| Kubala Martyna | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie | Ciągłość Konstrukcji | |
| Kufel Aleksandra | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | Opracowanie wydawnicze książki „Histeria sztuki. Niemy krzyk obrazów” autorstwa Soni Kiszy | |
| Makowska Adrianna | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach | INDIVIDUAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLAN | |
| Matecka Aleksandra | Uniwersytet im. Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu | Nowoczesna definicja śliwki – system identyfikacji dla przetworów śliwkowych Dary Lasu | |
| Michno Olga | Ignacy Białas | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki | Woolnut |
| Mietlowska Martyna | Klaudia Machera, Angelika Gręda | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach | Projekt gry edukacyjnej dla dzieci wspierającej warsztaty nauki wyjątkowego haftu z Jaworzynki. |
| Miłek Anna | Politechnika Łódzka | „Nord” czasopismo o Norwegii i języku norweskim dla całej rodziny | |
| Mordeja Paweł | Politechnika Wrocławska | PRZESTRZEŃ ZASTANA | |
| Mucha Paulina | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych we Wrocławiu | Czuję to! | |
| Omelková Michaela | Faculty of Fine Arts University of Ostrava | shepoth | |
| Rolbiecka Jagoda | Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie | Poza Sezonem | |
| Rolbiecka Jagoda | Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie | Elementy – Kalendarz | |
| Sacha Aleksandra | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach | Quirkquill | |
| Sacha Aleksandra | Karasińska Anna | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach | THE END OF THE FUTURE. Projekt identyfikacji wizualnej TEDxKatowice 2025. |
| Skublewski Mateusz | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | Projekt magazynu Odzysk | |
| Stanio Emilia | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie | Redizajn opakowań na karmę dla ptaków marki Garden&Fun | |
| Stecewicz Ewa | Agata Germian, Liza Nalewajko, Anna Safuryn | School of Form USWPS | BAJA |
| Stsiatsova Alina | Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie | Fabryka absolutu | |
| Swoszowska Marta | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych Katowice | Font „Knitting” | |
| Szymula Melita | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki | Projekt lektury szkolnej – Potop | |
| Ślachcińska Wiktoria | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | BUJU | |
| Wagner Agnieszka | Oliwia Zypser | SWPS | Poklask |
| Wagner Agnieszka | SWPS | Amager | |
| Wielgosz Katarzyna | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | KÉNÉ Magazyn mody afrykańskiej | |
| Zaranek Oskar | Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie | Projekt graficzny książki „Doktor Jekyll i pan Hyde” | |
| Ziółkowska Julia | Uniwersytet Artystyczny im. Magdaleny Abakanowicz w Poznaniu | Balladyna | |
| Zypser Oliwia | Agnieszka Wagner | Uniwersytet Komisji Edukacji Narodowej | Polski Kunszt |
Main jury
Young Agrafa
Young Agrafa 2026 is an event accompanying the Agrafa 2026 conference – a platform dedicated to young designers, offering them the opportunity to present their ideas and reflections to a wider audience. We are currently inviting applications from students of design-related universities, as well as graduates who defended their BA, MA, or PhD no earlier than 2024.
The event will take place on 14 May 2026 (12:00–15:00) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. Each selected speaker will deliver a 10-minute presentation in English, supported by a visual presentation.
Participation is free of charge; however, we do not provide honoraria. We recommend that speakers seek possible travel reimbursement from their home institutions.
We have the speakers!
New information coming soon, but in the meantime, here’s a reminder from the previous edition.
Team
Curators
Program Council
Graphics and promotion
Organizing
Volunteers
and: Dominika Brzeńska, Maria Czopek, Amelia Dziedzic, Julia Groborz, Daria Guzik, Celina Hess, Edyta Honkisz, Kinga Klisz, Zuzanna Kubok, Marta Kwiecień, Zuzanna Ludwig, Mateusz Mikoszek, Klaudia Mura, Klaudia Musialik, Weronika Najduch, Urszula Osolińska, Emilia Piątek, Alicja Pohl, Zuzanna Pruchniak, Apolonia Reclik, Wiktoria Rejowska, Weronika Sadza, Zofia Słowik, Marta Swoszowska, Dobromir Wojewoda
Organiser
Partners
Media patronage
