Art & Fashion Forum by Grażyna Kulczyk “Different = Irreplaceable”

The tenth, anniversary edition of Art & Fashion Forum by Grażyna Kulczyk was built around a clear and uncompromising statement: Different = Irreplaceable. Following the sensory focus of the previous year, the Forum shifted toward questions of identity, individuality, and otherness as core drivers of contemporary creativity.

The 2016 programme was developed under the artistic direction of Wojtek Piotr Onak and curated in partnership with SHOWstudio. This collaboration positioned the Forum in direct dialogue with global experimental culture, strengthening its international profile and critical relevance.
The edition approached difference not as deviation but as a structural condition of innovation. Through Open University lectures and live In Conversation panels produced by SHOWstudio, the programme brought together artists, designers, writers, and thinkers working at the edges of convention. These talks formed the intellectual backbone of the Forum, offering direct access to voices challenging dominant narratives in art and fashion.

New School, the Forum’s educational platform, welcomed fifty selected participants into intensive workshops across fashion, writing, illustration, photography, jewellery, and design. The programme emphasised authorship and individuality as professional tools. Five outstanding participants were awarded scholarships to Central Saint Martins.

The anniversary edition consolidated Art & Fashion Forum’s position as a European centre for cultural experimentation, demonstrating how strong curatorial vision, institutional partnerships, and artistic direction can transform a festival into a living platform for contemporary ideas.