On 3 September 2026, representatives of the Cheongju Craft Biennale Organizing Committee and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Seoul, formalizing their cooperation ahead of the 2027 edition, the Polish Adam Mickiewicz Institute announced in an official press release.
Under the memorandum, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM) will be responsible for preparing Poland’s presentation as part of the Biennale’s Guest of Honor program. The partnership is intended to extend beyond the 2027 event, supporting the long-term presence of Polish craft in Korea and Korean craft in Poland.
“Poland’s international reputation is built above all through quality, consistency and lasting relationships. Being named Guest of Honor at the Cheongju Craft Biennale is the result of many years of cooperation and will provide an opportunity to present Poland as a country that creatively combines heritage with modernity and has its own voice in the international conversation about the future. This is not a culmination, but the opening of another chapter in the Polish-Korean partnership,” said Dr Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
A long-standing cultural partnership
Poland’s selection as Guest of Honour follows years of growing cultural exchange between Poland and South Korea. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute has been active in Korea since 2009, working with more than 40 local partners.
Over the past 12 years, the Institute has organized more than 250 events spanning visual arts, craft and design, theatre, film and music, establishing a broad network of cultural cooperation between the two countries.
A particularly significant milestone came in 2024, when Poland and the Republic of Korea celebrated the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Cultural projects organized around the anniversary further strengthened the relationship and created new opportunities for Polish artists and creators to engage with Korean audiences.
This cooperation also led to a landmark presentation at the 2025 Cheongju Craft Biennale, where the work of Polish artists was exhibited in Cheongju for the first time. The participating artists were Alicja Patanowska, Beata Legierska, Justyna Smoleń and Marcin Rusak, whose practices demonstrate the diversity of contemporary Polish approaches to craft, materiality and design.
The 2027 Cheongju Craft Biennale will build on this growing network of cultural exchange. Poland’s role as Guest of Honour will provide an opportunity to present the country’s contemporary craft scene on an international stage while highlighting the ways in which Polish artists and designers reinterpret traditional knowledge, materials and techniques through contemporary practice.
(aj)
SOURCE: IAM