• The festival strengthens its international dimension with a special programme connecting the creative ecosystems of Poland and Spain through design, contemporary craftsmanship and culture.

• The exhibition Crafting Reality: In Search of Alternative Habitats, featuring 19 Polish creative profiles, will be one of the highlights of the Guest Country programme.

VALENCIA, 14 AUGUST 2026 — From 10 September to 15 October, València Design Fest returns with Poland as the Guest Country for 2026. This international collaboration will bring a broad representation of contemporary Polish creativity to the city while creating new opportunities for exchange between professionals, institutions and cultural stakeholders from both countries.

Developed together with the Creative Industries Institute of Poland (IPK) and the Polish Cultural Institute in Madrid, the collaboration aims to strengthen the international dimension of València Design Fest and foster closer ties between two creative ecosystems with a significant tradition rooted in design and craftsmanship.

The collaboration will unfold through a series of initiatives within the festival programme, including encounters and presentations, as well as the exhibition Crafting Reality: In Search of Alternative Habitats, curated by Alicja Głuszek at Pasaje 94 gallery, which will explore craftsmanship both as a form of knowledge and as a tool for questioning our relationship with nature.

Crafting Reality: contemporary Polish craftsmanship comes to Valencia

The centrepiece of Poland’s participation will be the exhibition Crafting Reality: In Search of Alternative Habitats, at Pasaje 94 gallery and integrated into the València Design Fest programme dedicated to contemporary craftsmanship and design. Curated by Alicja Głuszek, the exhibition brings together the work of 19 leading creators from the Polish scene, offering an experimental, critical and sustainable perspective on contemporary craftsmanship.

Ceramics, glass, wood, stone, metal, fabrics, paper, embroidery and cabinetmaking become tools for reflecting on our relationship with the environment. Against a backdrop of ecological uncertainty, technological acceleration and the challenges of the present, Crafting Reality approaches craft practice not as a nostalgic look towards the past, but as a space from which to imagine new ways of inhabiting the world, structured around three interconnected thematic chapters.

We Are Earth: Resisting Anthropocentric Cataclysm brings together works rooted in a deep understanding of ethically and sustainably sourced materials. Ceramics, glass, wood, stone and metal will emphatise the close relationship between human creativity, matter and the natural world.

We Are Roots: Updating Tradition focuses on artists who recover traditional techniques and forms of knowledge, from fabrics and textiles to cabinetmaking, transforming inherited knowledge into a contemporary, living and humanistic practice in constant evolution.

Finally, We Are Path: Designing Contemporaneity brings together experimental approaches that challenge the physical and conceptual boundaries of craftsmanship through new processes and languages, presenting craft as a territory of resilience and innovation capable of opening alternative paths for thinking about the future.
The exhibition features works by Agata Marchlewicz, Aleksandra Zawistowska, Agnieszka Bar, Agnieszka Mazur, Aleksander Oniszh, Beata Momot, Beata Wietrzyńska, Formsophy, Huba Studio, Jakub Przyborowski, Jan Ankiersztajn, Justyna Kosińska, Maciej Gąsienica Giewont, Monika Dąbrowska-Picewicz, Monika Patuszyńska, Olga Milczyńska, P55 MIRRORS, REST Studio and Zofia Kusch.

The exhibition is organised by Poland’s Creative Industries Institute (IPK) in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute in Madrid, and co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.

A dialogue between Poland and Valencia

Poland’s role as Guest Country extends beyond the exhibition itself. Throughout València Design Fest, a programme of activities, encounters and presentations featuring Polish artists and designers will create connections with professionals and stakeholders from the Spanish creative scene. Participants will include Marisa Santamaría, researcher and communicator specialized in global design trends, and Estudio Savage, curators of Tiempo + Materia, alongside other professionals and studios from the Valencian and Spanish contemporary creative scene.

The programme will provide a platform for sharing experiences and reflections on issues common to both ecosystems: the recovery and renewal of craft practices, the cultural value of materials, sustainability, the transmission of craft knowledge, and the relationship between tradition, experimentation and new forms of production.

The Polish presence will also extend to the international furniture and lighting fair, Feria Hábitat València, one of the major events taking place during València Design Fest, with a special presentation at Ágora Nude, the space dedicated to emerging talent and new generations of designers.

With Poland as Guest Country, València Design Fest continues to consolidate its role as an international platform for exchange, connecting the Valencian creative ecosystem with other territories and using design as a tool for establishing new cultural, professional and institutional relationships.

The initiative also represents another step in the Design Foundation of the Region of Valencia’s (Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana) commitment to raising the international profile of Valencian design and establishing València Design Fest as a permanent meeting point between different design cultures, fostering collaborations capable of extending beyond the festival itself.

València Design Fest continues to grow

València Design Fest will once again unfold across the city with a diverse agenda of exhibitions, conferences, installations, international encounters, workshops, participatory activities and projects connecting design, culture, innovation and citizens.

Among the highlights of the 2026 edition will be a new edition of Tiempo + Materia, curated by Estudio Savage and dedicated to contemporary craftsmanship and design, as well as an expanded programme focusing on architecture. This will include La ciudad generosa, featuring communicator and architect Marta Soler (creator of the podcast Alzados y Caídos) in conversation with Rafa Rivera, Álvaro Saval and other guests yet to be confirmed.

The festival will continue to highlight design as a tool for innovation through conversations addressing subjects including sustainability, contemporary craftsmanship and new generations of professionals. Confirmed participants include Mudat Estudio, Nieves Contreras, Yasmina Benabdelkrim, Berry Dijkstra, Nuria Matarredona, Marisa Santamaría, Liam Aldous, Tomás Alía, Eva Toledo (Padima), Adrián Salvador, Lucas Zaragosí, Reyes Pe, Kike Correcher, Hanna Harris, Felix Kosok, Vicent Molins and Carlos Ferrando (Closca), among others.

València Design Fest will also organise children’s workshops on typography and urbanism led respectively by Cuadernos Rubio and Silvana Andrés; a film and design series at La Filmoteca with Sara Mansanet and Carlos Salazar; collaborations with the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny for a new edition of Confesiones del Diseño with Elena Yuste and Sehila Soriano; guided visits to L’ETNO; Art&Design Walks with Turiart; and the sixth edition of Noche en el Museo at the Museu de Belles Arts de València, with LZF Lamps, GandiaBlasco and Greenarea.

The programme will also include a collaboration with the 60th anniversary programme of the School of Architecture at the Universitat Politècnica de València, as well as the partner programme Abierto Valencia 2026, organised by LAVAC (Association of Contemporary Art Galleries of Valencia), which will take place from 17 to 25 September with an extensive programme of exhibitions, a joint gallery opening, guided tours, talks, musical sessions and performances.

From 28 September to 1 October, one of the festival’s busiest weeks will coincide with Feria Hábitat València and one of its most ambitious editions to date, under the title València Inspira Diseño, with an extensive cultural programme forming part of València Design Fest 2026 and taking place in Nude’s new pavilion dedicated to emerging talent.

Schools and educational institutions including Barreira Arte+Diseño, EASD València, Universidad Europea de València, Facultat de Belles Arts, the Chair for Spaces for Culture, Creativity and Innovation at the University of Valencia, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, CEI and LABA Valencia, among others, are preparing their own activities as part of the València Design Fest programme. And this year will also count on with new festival venues including IVAM, the González Martí National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts, Palau de la Música and the Centro de Artesanía de la Comunitat Valenciana.

The programme will culminate with the fifth edition of Future of Fashion on 15 October at Centro Cultural La Petxina, a new venue for an international event curated by Patricia Moreno Barberá that will once again position Valencia as a space for reflection on the future of fashion, innovation and sustainability.

València Design Fest is supported by the City Council of Valencia, València Innovation Capital, the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Feria Valencia and Visit Valencia, with Andreu World as main sponsor, alongside APE Grupo, ACTIU, Padima, Rolser, Voolcan Grupo, Emedec, Material Bank, LZF Lamps and Teika as sponsors. The festival is made possible through the collaboration of cultural and educational institutions, universities, schools, professional associations and design companies that contribute to this major month-long celebration of design, and counts local specialist media DXI and Flat Magazine as media partners.

The full València Design Fest programme will be available from September at valenciadesignfest.com and in the official Pocket Design Guide 2026.

About the Design Foundation of the Region of Valencia

The Design Foundation of the Region of Valencia is an organisation dedicated to promoting, supporting and raising awareness of design across institutions, businesses and industry, acting as a matchmaker that connects opportunities with organisations and design professionals. With a firm commitment to innovation, sustainability and social impact, the Design Foundation continues to strengthen the role of design as a key tool for transformation from the Region of Valencia.

Building on the legacy of World Design Capital Valencia 2022, the Design Foundation works to position, promote and celebrate design while supporting a culture of knowledge across the creative, economic and social spheres. Its aim is to underline the importance of design as a tool for creating value, increasing business competitiveness and contributing to a better quality of life for citizens.

The Design Foundation carries out extensive internationalisation work to raise the profile of the Valencian creative and industrial ecosystem. It is a member of the World Design Organization, a member of BEDA (The Bureau of European Design Associations) as a Design Promotion Institution, an official partner of the New European Bauhaus initiative launched by the European Commission, and collaborates with the City Council of Valencia in representing Valencia City of Design within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

The Foundation’s activities are made possible thanks to the commitment of companies that recognise design as a driver of innovation and competitiveness. These include Andreu World as Grand Sponsor, APE Grupo, Padima and Actiu as Sponsors, as well as the support of JISO Spain, all of which actively contribute to the development of the organisation’s initiatives throughout the year.