The West Kashubian Museum in Bytów is holding a two-stage competition to find a design concept for the permanent exhibition “The Kashubian Borderland” in Płotowo.

The specific objectives of the exhibition include:

1. presenting the Kashubian borderland as a meeting point of Polish, German, Pomeranian, and local influences,
2. explaining the historical shifts in the political and administrative affiliation of the Bytów region,
3. presenting the daily lives of borderland residents during pivotal periods of the 20th century,
4. to contextualize local history within broader regional and European processes,
5. creating a clear, engaging, and multisensory exhibition route.

The competition is a restricted, two-stage “ ” competition.

Stage I consists of the submission and evaluation of study proposals. The study proposal should include: a description of the exhibition’s narrative concept and underlying ideological principles, preliminary design proposals for individual structures within the farmstead, as well as a list of planned exhibition elements with a preliminary description of their nature.

Stage II involves the submission and evaluation of competition entries —complete exhibition design concepts comprising: a description of the exhibition’s narrative concept and the underlying ideological principles, a spatial layout concept with drawings and layout plans for individual farmstead structures, a list of planned exhibition elements with estimated implementation costs, and visualizations of key exhibition spaces. Competition entries will be evaluated based on: creative merit and the quality of the artistic concept, relevance to the cultural heritage of the Kashubian Borderland, functionality, accessibility, and the logic of the visitor experience, as well as the feasibility of the concept and its cost-effectiveness.

For more information, see the contest rules

Prizes

• First Prize — an invitation to negotiate under a single-source procurement procedure

Timeline

• Deadline for submitting applications for admission to the competition: by August 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
• Deadline for sending notifications of admission to the competition and invitations to submit feasibility studies (Phase I): no later than August 21, 2026
• Deadline for submitting design proposals (Phase I): 21 days from the date the invitation is issued (if the invitation is issued on August 21, the deadline is September 11, 2026)
• Qualification for Stage II of the competition: by September 25, 2026
• Invitation to participants to submit competition entries (Stage II): by September 28, 2026
• Deadline for submitting competition entries (Stage II): 28 days from the date the invitation is issued (if the invitation is issued on September 28, the deadline is October 26, 2026)
• Announcement of competition results: November 10, 2026

Competition Jury

• Tomasz Siemiński — Chair of the Competition Jury
• Jaromir Szroeder
• Barbara Borzyszkowska
• Marzenna Mazur
• Mirosław Kuklik
• Izabela Bukowska
• Roman Drzeżdżon