Opening of the exhibition “Design in Wartime”
On January 2026 the opening of the exhibition “Design in Wartime: Challenges in Contemporary Ukraine” took place at the ZAG Gallery.
This exhibition brings together 19 projects by Ukrainian and Austrian students of architecture and design, created as part of a long-standing academic collaboration. It is not only the result of a teaching project, but also a profound professional and ethical exploration of the reality of war.
The works presented address key questions of our time:
- How can architecture and design respond to threat, destruction, and insecurity?
- How can spaces of protection, solidarity, care, and hope be created?
- And what responsibility do designers bear in times of social crisis?
An essential component of the project is the bilingual catalog in Ukrainian and English, which documents the works and makes them internationally accessible. It enables the exhibition to have an impact beyond this location, to travel further, and to serve as a basis for an international discourse on reconstruction and shaping the future.
Therefore, we wholeheartedly support this exhibition as an example of how education, science, and culture can jointly respond to the challenges of war and open up perspectives for the future.
My sincere thanks go to all partner institutions, the curators, the faculty, the students, and everyone involved who made this exhibition and the catalogue possible.
Pictures by Anna Ilchenko
