Klimowski has have been invited to give the keynote speech at the International Illustration Symposium in the Ethnographical Museum in Krakow in November. It is called The Function of Folk: Illustration, Narrative, Society
The Third International Illustration Research Symposium ‘The Function of ‘Folk’: Illustration, Narrative, Society 8th and 9th November 2012, Ethnographic Museum, Krakow, Poland http://www.illustrationresearch.co.uk/thirdsymposium/

The Third ‘Illustration Research’ Symposium explores the idea of the illustrator as contemporary ‘folk’ artist, and asks what function the illustrator has within communities – local and global. Sessions are themed around key ideas, and cover ground such as the visual language and iconography of folk motifs on clothing, the cultural impact of ‘folk art’ in shaping national identity, the collaboration between publisher and folk artists in India, the engagement of illustrators with the public to create powerful personal narratives, the idea of folk icons, relational and pragmatic methods of creating illustration, the illustration of urban myths, and the exploration of cultural identities through narrative illustration. The diversity of illustration practice today is represented – from traditional techniques of paper cutting, drawing and printmaking to puppetry and performance alongside work created for digital platforms.

With an impressively international line up of speakers and an exhibition of contemporary illustration inspired by the theme of the conference, this event is hosted by the Ethnographic Museum in Krakow. The event will be held in an evocative venue – the two beautifully restored historic buildings that house Krakow’s wonderful collection of ethnographic art. The organisers anticipate that most of the work will be displayed as digital printouts

The event should be of interest to practitioners, academics, students of illustration, history, ethnography and cultural studies.