Berlin’s Museum of Decorative Arts presents Retrotopia: Design for Socialist Spaces, an exhibition exploring the design across nations in the former Eastern Bloc between the 1960s and 1980s.

During the Cold War, design and architecture came to reflect the geopolitical tug-of-war between the USA and the USSR. The exhibition addresses town planning, architecture and design in public and private spaces, showcasing installations, models, textiles, photographs and films.

The event explores hotels, airports, festivals and sporting events across Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia.

An innovative network of curators and institutions has come together to develop Retrotopia: Design for Socialist Spaces. This exhibit opens up new and surprising insights into the complex facets of the design landscape of a region that remains unknown to the broader (and in particular Western) public.