Viera Kleinová
The exhibition, recording 10 years of the Rings in Water competition was prepared by ÚĽUV on the premises of a former Bratislava textile factory Cvernovka (thread factory) currently operated as the Cvernovka Gallery. It was open to the public in December and January.
ÚĽUV has been running the competition Rings in Water since 1999, when it was initiated by the European Folk Art and Craft Federation as an international project of craft exhibiting regional specificities. ÚĽUV is the only representative of eight initially participating countries to continue the tradition since then. To date, five editions of the biannual competition have taken place, focusing on products of everyday use (tableware and interior elements, furniture), jewel and fashion. The competition has found its fans primarily among young authors . The interest of secondary school students induced the creation of a separate secondary-level category. Almost a thousand of designers, artists and craftspeople have participated in the competition over the past ten years.
The concept of the exhibition Rings 2009 had two levels – the core of the presentations was works of 87 award-winning authors. In addition there was a selected group of authors whose works were similar in nature to the competition’s direction – altogether works by 140 authors were represented at the exhibition. A fashion show of the young Slovak clothing design was part of the exhibition’s opening event. In 2010 people will have a chance to see the exhibition in Košice, Slovakia and, abroad, in Berlin and Ljubljana.