Mapping What Matters: Conference and Exhibition of Contemporary Graphic Design
What truly “matters” in graphic design today, and who gets to decide? We invite you to a one-day conference bringing together lectures, an exhibition, and a book fair to open a critical dialogue on contemporary visual communication.
Bratislava, Arena Theatre
Mapping What Matters is a new platform dedicated to critical thinking in design and the exchange of knowledge about contemporary graphic design practice. As a one-day event in Bratislava, it connects lectures, a curated exhibition and a small book market, creating an intensive space for education, sharing experiences and collective reflection. In Slovakia, it represents a unique format that brings a European perspective on graphic design discourse and naturally appeals to an international audience. The event is held in English. The ambition of the platform is to systematically develop professional knowledge, connect the local scene with the international one, and contribute in the long term to raising the level of visual culture in Slovakia.
Each edition brings a unique approach
The curator of the 2026 edition is graphic designer Ľubica Segečová, co-founder of the trivjednom studio and the Self festival. In her work, she has long focused on the intersections between design, social context and education. When creating the programme, she drew from her own “mapping of what matters” in contemporary theory and practice of visual communication, graphic design and typography. Together with the conference founders Terézia Denkova and Barbara Kowalczuková, she opened a discussion about the current state of the scene, the role of publishing, education and the social responsibility of design – and it was from these conversations that the event’s title emerged.
From the selection of speakers, it is clear that Segečová maps various approaches to graphic design – from the critical and socially engaged perspective of Ruben Pater, through the reflective work with visual forms by Anne Büttner, or the pedagogically and socially oriented approach of Laura Pappa, to the research-based and conceptual understanding of type design by Adrien Vasquez. They are complemented by the autonomous and formally precise strategies of the Vier5 studio, the content-driven publishing activities of Utopia Libri, and the analytical approach of Sandra Kassenaar.
Over the course of one day, a temporary archive and reading room of approximately 25 publications released in the past five years will be created. The selection is curated by the speakers themselves in collaboration with other invited figures from the field of visual culture. The Temporary Library was originally created for the SELF festival (2017), organised by Ľubica Segečová, Mária Rišková and Eva Šimovičová.
The conference also gives space to young and uncompromising publishing houses and bookstores in the form of a small book market, where visitors will be able to purchase books from Utopia Libri (CZ), Mark Pezinger Books (AT), Soybot (AT), and Brot Books Deli (SK).
The evening programme will feature DJ sets by illustrator and DJ seafur, as well as by curator Ľubica Segečová. Afterwards, the event will move to the centre of Bratislava (Temný Ostblock), where an informal programme accompanied by music will continue.
Mapping What Matters was initiated by a pair of young designers with the aim of creating a platform based on curiosity, dialogue and a shared interest in how graphic design operates within broader cultural and social contexts. It seeks to build a professional community founded on collaboration and exchange rather than competition.
The conference will take place on 16 May at Arena Theatre from 10:00.