Lead: At this year’s Gdynia Design Days 2024 festival, the exhibition “Synanthropic plants. What do weeds teach us?” showcased works by students from the School of Form. As part of the project, participants created imaginative biographies of weeds, highlighting their unique traits, needs, dreams, and their relationship with the environment around them.
Lokalizacja: Gdynia
Wstęp wolny: Nie
Sekcja:
Formatowanie sekcji: Paragraf, Nagłówek 2: What Do Weeds Teach Us?, Treść sekcji: The exhibition “Synanthropic plants. What do weeds teach us?” presents a collection of work by students from the School of Form at SWPS University. The project began with research into synanthropic plants — species that thrive in close proximity to humans — as a way of exploring the complex relationships between humans and plants. The exhibition features key synanthropic species such as evening primrose, common mullein, stinging nettle, tansy, curly dock, black locust, chicory, purslane, Virginia creeper, wormwood, and alfalfa.
The exhibition “Synanthropic plants. What do weeds teach us?” consists of three key aspects — interdisciplinary collaboration, research, and synanthropic plants., Nazwa galerii sekcji: galeria_1
Formatowanie sekcji: Paragraf, Nagłówek 2: Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Treść sekcji: Since its founding, the School of Form has emphasized collaborative thinking — working in teams and engaging with the social, business, and expert communities across various fields. This type of collaboration often challenges traditional perceptions of the designer’s role. The idea of sole authorship fades, and individual control over the design process and its outcomes becomes less defined. Participants experience the dual nature of collaboration, where moments of satisfaction are mixed with periods of frustration. Interdisciplinary courses simulate real-world professional life, where navigating complex relationships, multiple stakeholders, and ever-changing variables is essential, along with the ability to identify core problems within the often-chaotic processes of research and design.
Formatowanie sekcji: Paragraf z wieloma ilustracjami, Nagłówek 2: Research, Treść sekcji: In today’s world, thorough research is one of the most essential tools for a designer. Interdisciplinary research not only inspires but also helps to understand the complexity and interconnected nature of design challenges. Students conducted several weeks of fieldwork on weeds, documenting their daily lives and behaviors in their natural environments through drawings, photography, and video.
Alongside this research, they developed speculative narratives: What does the evening primrose enjoy, and what does the black locust avoid? What kind of story could a curled dock tell about its life? What kinds of relationships do weeds form in the unique microcosm of semi-wild, ruderal urban spaces? What traumas and dreams shape their identities? Inspired by "tentacular thinking" — a flexible, open, multi-perspective approach — students created plant personas, blending empirical data with imaginative interpretations.
, Nazwa galerii sekcji: galeria_3
Formatowanie sekcji: Paragraf z wieloma ilustracjami, Nagłówek 2: Synanthropic Plants, Treść sekcji: Weeds represent otherness, difference, and unfamiliarity, but they also symbolize diversity, assimilation, and resilience. In today's world, we often look for simple, clear-cut solutions — binary, black and white, "either/or". Good or bad. Victim or perpetrator. Rational or emotional. Left or right. This kind of thinking drives polarization, blurring the nuance and complexity of all relationships. It also makes it harder for us to deal with difference, whether it is race, nationality, personality, or even species. Weeds remind us of the complexity of these dynamics. They often clash with their surroundings, competing for resources and space, but they also support biodiversity and have valuable medicinal properties. They teach us that living in a diverse world means accepting contradictions and learning to navigate conflict, rather than always seeking simple answers., Nazwa galerii sekcji: galeria_2
Formatowanie sekcji: Paragraf, Nagłówek 2: Projects from the exhibition “Synanthropic plants. What do weeds teach us?”, Treść sekcji: {projekty 25,28|738}
Formatowanie sekcji: News: notka bio, Nagłówek 1: Megi Malinowska, Nagłówek 2: Exhibition Curator, Treść sekcji: {link https://sof.edu.pl/en/people/malgorzata-malinowska}
Designer, lecturer at the School Of Form at SWPS University, co-founder of Tabanda., Ilustracja sekcji: Portrait photo. Megi Malinowska, lecturer at School of Form.Portrait photo. Megi Malinowska, lecturer at School of Form.
Formatowanie sekcji: News: notka bio, Nagłówek 1: Aleksandra Andrzejewska, Nagłówek 2: Exhibition Curator, Treść sekcji: {link https://sof.edu.pl/en/people/aleksandra-andrzejewska}
A graduate of Architecture at Gdańsk University of Technology and of the Culture, Media, and Society program at Lancaster University and the Graduate School for Social Research at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN). Co-founder of the Urban Activity Association 'Rozkwit'—an initiative for the protection, accessibility, and diversity of green spaces. She works at the intersection of philosophy, art, design, and urban activism. A member of the Center for Psychoanalytic Thought at IFiS PAN, where she is pursuing a PhD in philosophy. She co-created projects exhibited at Foksal Gallery (Warsaw, 2022), super bien! (Berlin, 2022), and Greensboro Project Space (2022). She participated in residencies at the Contemporary Art Center Zamek (2020) and Digital Artist Residency (2021)., Ilustracja sekcji: Portrait photo. Aleksandra Andrzejewska, lecturer at School of Form.
Formatowanie sekcji: News: notka bio, Nagłówek 1: Monika Rosińska, Nagłówek 2: Exhibition Curator, Treść sekcji: {link https://sof.edu.pl/en/people/monika-rosinska}
Sociologist and design researcher. She is interested in interdisciplinary approaches to research in design and the practice of design. She is the author of “Considering Use. Designers. Objects. Social Life (Bęc Zmiana Publishers, 2010) and “Design Redefinitions – Status, Practices, Contexts”. She won a Kulczyk Family scholarship for her outstanding academic work, awarded to her by the Adam Mickiewicz University Foundation in 2012. She was one of the creators of School of Form’s “NIEwidzialny DIZAJN” conference. She also cooperates with Association of Creative Initiatives ‘ę’ as one of the Flying Social Researchers.
, Ilustracja sekcji: Portrait photo. Monika Rosińska, lecturer at School of Form.
