Graduation project
Unearthed
Szymon Klejborowski
A series of workshops aims to reconnect communities with their local heritage through the making of a traditional object.
The ciupaga, a traditional highlander's axe from Zakopane in the Polish Tatra Mountains, has lost its original significance and is now mostly available as a tourist imitation. Similarly, Zakopane's economy has become solely dependent on tourism, neglecting its manufacturing sector and cultural development. Szymon Klejborowski organized woodworking workshops for volunteers from the local orphanage. The workshops aimed to empower them and help them realize their potential to enact change. Klejborowski then crafted personalized ciupagi for each participant. The project marks the beginning of Unearthed's vision to reconnect communities, like Zakopane, with their local heritage through the collective analysis of objects, such as ciupagi.