Jana Zielinski (CZE)

Jana graduated in Social Work from the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, and also studied Art History and Film School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 2019, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague for her outstanding contribution to Czech design, a title she received for her life's work at just 44 years old.

While still a student, she produced the series Artists in New Media (1998-2001) with the Czech National Gallery, focusing on electronic media, art in virtual space and digital graphic design. At the same time, she was approached by the Prague City Gallery to lead its PR and marketing department (1999-2001). Jana was at the birth of the new media festival Enter multimediále (2000), produced the Stelarc man/machine dance and contributed to the Dotyk magazine. Since 2001, she has directed the Designblok festival, which has become the most important contemporary design festival in Central Europe.

Together with her colleague Jiří Macek, they founded the Křehký brand based on the Designblok exhibition project Křehký - the emotional landscape of Czech design (2007), which presented a selection of the strongest moments of contemporary Czech glass and porcelain design. Together they have also organised and curated a number of successful exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad. In 2020, Jana initiated the establishment of the Association of Industrial Design, which strengthens the position of Czech manufacturers in the country and abroad.