Amberif Design Award 2010

The aim of the International Amberif Design Award is the worldwide promotion of amber as a natural material with unique properties. We have held 13 Amberif Design Award international competitions so far and all of them were about jewellery. And yet, in its long tradition of being crafted, which dates back to Neolithic times, the Amber Routes which led to Ancient Rome and later during the baroque period when the most spectacular artefacts were made, all the way to structures which are truly architectural in scale, the Gold of the North was also used as a material to make objets d’art and personal accessories which were not jewellery. 

In recent years we have had an explosion of the manufacturing of amber products which are often rather average in terms of style and quality, which has lead to the cheapening of the image of amber itself. We would like to invite the contestants to indulge in critical reflection on the (often superficial) stereotypes which have been perpetuated this way and which we can see in jewellery shop display windows. We extend this invitation not only to amber jewellery makers, goldsmiths and jewellery designs, but also to those working in industrial design, who we hope will come up with innovative ways of using amber, so clearly associated with the Baltic and the Polish cultural heritage, to transcend the stereotype of “a souvenir from the seaside”. 

NON-JEWELLERY, the topic of this year’s Amberif Design Award sets down only one caveat on the function of the entries: they must not be jewellery. Besides that, we want to keep the array of associations, interpretations and creative freedom as open as possible. We welcome all kinds of original ideas on how to use Baltic amber as an important structural, functional and/or ornamental element in contemporary objects of everyday use, interior decoration elements and accessories to fit within the capacious definition of “life-style”. We not only allow, but in fact expect amber to be combined with other materials, provided that it retains its leading role in the final visual effect.
We hope that such an experiment will help to develop high quality applied art and discover new ways of using Baltic amber outside jewellery, and that the designers themselves will be able to get familiar with its unique properties and perhaps add it to their own creative interests and activities. 

Sławomir Fijałkowski


We are honoured to announce our contest which aims to promote creative ideas in products and designs with amber and the specific properties of Baltic amber.

1. The Goal and the Object of the Competition 
The goal of the contest is to promote amber as a source of artistic expression. The aim of the competition is the design of an original, unique object d’ art with amber, inspired by the topic of the contest. Competitors are allowed to use all other materials provided that amber plays the essential role.

2. Participants 
The competition is open to all designers, artists, creators and craftspeople. Designer and manufacturing teams are allowed. A member of a team may not participate individually. Works can be entered only under the contestant’s own name or the name of the designer and manufacturing team. However, the name of the designer must always be provided.

3. Number of entries 
Each participant may submit no more than two entries. A single entry is understood as a single object or set of objects. Each entry should have its own separate code. Should more than two entries be submitted, the participant shall be disqualified.

4. Presentation of entries 
Only presentations on (2-D) charts with the design produced in any graphic technique (including drawings, renderings, and visualisations) or a photograph of a ready object or model will be accepted. Each entry should be submitted in the form of a single 30 x 30 cm chart. If the designer considers it essential, he/she may present an additional chart of the same format. Additional charts will not be included in exhibition nor in the catalogue. Any explanatory text (provided that they are necessary to correctly interpret the artist’s intentions) are to be included on the chart must be in English. Each entry chart must be legibly marked with the six-digit entry code written in its bottom right-hand corner (the use of six identical digits is disallowed). Entry charts must not contain any information or distinguishing marks, which might allow the author of the design or its place of origin to be identified. Designs containing any such information shall be disqualified.
A completed entry form must be attached to the design along with proof of payment of the participation fee. The entry form must be placed in a sealed envelope on which the six-digit entry code is written in legible manner. Entries including any ready pieces sent instead or together with cards presenting the design shall not be accepted or collected from the post.

5. Participation fee 
20 EUR ( tax included ) for contestants from abroad. This fee entitles each participant to receive one copy of the AMBERIF 2010 catalogue and an invitation to the AMBERIF 2010 Fair in Gdańsk, between 10 and 13 March 2010. 

Please transfer the participation fee into the following bank account:
Międzynarodowe Targi Gdańskie S.A.
PEKAO S.A. IV/O Gdańsk
Account No. 66124012711978000014920862
SWIFT code PKO PPLPW, IBAN 66
Please mark transfer with note: Amberif Design Award 2010

6. Return of designs 
Designs shall remain in the possession of the Organiser until the end of June 2010 and might be presented in galleries in the Tri-City area. After this time the designs shall be sent back by registered mail.

7. Deadline for entry 
Designs must be submitted at the designer’s own cost so that the entries reach the Head Office of the Organiser by 9 February 2010. 

8. The Jury and the Curator 
The following persons have been invited to sit in the Jury:
Prof. Bogumiła Jung – designer, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, Poland. 
Prof. Hermann Hermsen – designer, lecturer at the Dusseldorf University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
Agnieszka Jacobson Cielecka – journalist, exhibition curator – Warsaw, Poland
Jacek Byczewski – jewellery designer – Warsaw, Poland
Ulf Erichson – ethnographer, Director of the German Amber Museum in Ribnitz-Damgarten, Germany 

The Curator of the competition is Dr. Sławomir Fijałkowski. The Curator does not participate in the Jury session. The session of the Jury will take place on 13 February 2010 in Gdańsk. The Jurors shall know neither the names nor the nationalities of the participants prior to reaching the verdict.

9. Competition criteria 
The Jury shall award prizes, honourable mentions and shall choose works for presentation in the catalogue and at the exhibition, guided by artistic criteria. Designs must be original and must not have been publicly exhibited prior to the competition. They must constitute the author's own work as understood under copyright law. The designer must confirm this in the entry form. 

The Jury shall consider the following when reaching its verdict:
- conceptual and creative interpretation of the topic
- the functional, imaging and stylistic values
- innovative and creative use of amber
The possibility of the reproduction or direct use of the entry in applied design shall not be a criterion for assessment. The verdict of the Jury is final and not open to any legal recourse.

10. Prizes 
The following prizes will be awarded:
The Mayor of the City of Gdańsk Prize: 10 000 PLN exchange rate approx. 4,2 PLN / 1EUR
The Amber Prize of the International Amber Association : 2 kg of amber

11. The Exhibition 
The winning designs and other entries qualified by the Jury shall be exhibited during AMBERIF 2010, the 17th International Fair of Amber, Jewellery and Gemstones between 10 and 13 March 2010 in Gdańsk, Poland.

12. The Catalogue 
The winning designs, the entries qualified by the Jury and the list of competition participants shall be published in the Exhibitors’ Catalogue of the AMBERIF 2010 Fair.

13. Award Ceremony 
Will take place during the AMBERIF 2010 Fair on 11 March 2010.

14. Documentation of the Competition 
The Organiser reserves the right to publish works entered for the competition. Therefore, it is recommended to supply a digital photo of the designed object (tiff. or jpg file 300 dpi). The data carrier will not be returned. Entries to the competition will be also photographed by the Organiser.

15. Amber 
For the raw material we recommend contacting the following companies:
Golden Amber www.golden-amber.pl 
tel. +48 502 240 893
Wikwol www.wikwol.eu 
tel +48 58 712 60 03


Competition Office - ada@mtgsa.com.pl
Dr. Sławomir Fijałkowski, Curator of the Competition - s.fijalkowski@onet.pl
Ewa Rachoń, Amberif Project Director - ewa.rachon@mtgsa.com.pl