SNEAKERS UNBOXED: STUDIO TO STREET
Co-curated Exhibition
in collaboration with the Design Museum London

Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street is the Polish edition of the acclaimed exhibition originally developed by the Design Museum London and curated by Ligaya Salazar. As co-curator and Artistic Director of Pop Culture Gallery at Stary Browar, Poznań, I collaborated closely with Salazar and the Design Museum team to adapt, expand, and recontextualise the exhibition for Central Europe.

Presented in one of Poland’s most innovative contemporary art spaces, the exhibition explored sneakers as a global design object, a cultural symbol, and a social phenomenon. It combined original loans from international designers, prototypes from leading global brands, archival materials, technological experiments, and rare collector’s items. The Poznań edition introduced new layers and regionally specific narratives, positioning sneaker culture within local histories of sport, streetwear, identity, and urban transformation.

The exhibition was divided into three interconnected chapters:
Studio — showing how sneakers are engineered, designed, prototyped, and tested;
Street — examining their role in shaping subcultures, communities, music, and visual identity;
Collectors — presenting iconic models, rare releases, custom designs, and the global economy of collecting.

My curatorial work focused on redefining the exhibition for a Polish and Central European audience: creating new spatial narrative pathways, integrating local cultural references, developing the graphic and architectural concept, and designing a contextual layer that linked global sneaker history with the region’s evolving visual and social landscape. The resulting show offered viewers not only a survey of sneaker culture but an immersive, research-based narrative extending beyond the London original.

Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street in Poznań received strong public and media reception, becoming one of the most visited contemporary culture exhibitions in the region that season. It attracted audiences from fashion, design, art, music, street culture, and technology, confirming the relevance of bridging global design stories with local cultural context.

This edition marked one of the first major collaborations between a Polish contemporary art institution and the Design Museum London, positioning Pop Culture Gallery as an emerging platform for internationally rooted, interdisciplinary exhibitions.