The international project “Joining the Shards” has its own unique logo. All project partners approved the graphic symbol identifying this initiative, which is built around a simplified outline of a vase – a universal symbol of ceramic heritage. This form is abstractly composed of five interdependent segments representing the five partner institutions involved in the project. Each element retains its individual identity while contributing to a coherent and balanced whole, reflecting collaboration and shared responsibility.
The colour palette is based on warm, earthy, and muted tones inspired by clay, natural pigments, and ceramic surfaces. These colours symbolize stability, calmness, and a positive outlook toward the future, reinforcing the ideas of restoration, cooperation, and the preservation of cultural continuity. In addition to the full-colour version, black-and-white and negative versions of the logo have also been developed.
The logo was designed by Dr Magdalena Gazur, a renowned ceramic artist and graphic designer, and one of the leading designers of Bolesławiec ceramics of the last decade. She graduated from the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, receiving her diploma in 2006 from the First Studio of Functional Ceramic Design led by Professor Lidia Kupczyńska-Jankowiak. In 2022, she completed her doctoral dissertation, “Around the Table: The Influence of Traditional Manufacturing Techniques on Contemporary Functional Forms” (supervised by Professor Joanna Teper), at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, where she currently teaches graphic presentation techniques and product management in the Department of Interdisciplinary Activities in Ceramics and Glass.
Between 2005 and 2006, she also studied at the University of Wolverhampton (United Kingdom), attending both the School of Ceramics (2006) and the School of Graphic Communication (2005–2006). In 2010, she completed postgraduate studies in “Design Management in New Product Development”, organised by the Institute of Industrial Design in cooperation with the Warsaw School of Economics.
Dr Gazur has been associated with Bolesławiec since 2009, when she participated in the 45th International Ceramic and Sculpture Symposium. During the following two years, she served as commissioner of the event, and since 2011 she has been professionally affiliated with one of the city’s leading ceramic manufacturers, Manufaktura in Bolesławiec. Currently serving as Artistic Director and Chief Designer, she is responsible for the company’s design development.
Her works have been widely presented at exhibitions and industry fairs, receiving numerous awards and distinctions. She was a co-author of the “Polish Table” initiative, through which three Lower Silesian manufacturers – Manufaktura in Bolesławiec, Porcelana Krzysztof from Wałbrzych, and Julia Crystal Glassworks from Piechowice – jointly created tableware collections combining stoneware, porcelain, and glass. The breakfast set from this collection received the prestigious “must have” award at the Łódź Design Festival in 2016. In subsequent years, additional collections designed by Dr Gazur were also recognised at the festival, including “The 1960s” (2020), “HopOnTop” (2021), and “Carpets from Bolesławiec” (2022). In 2025, she began collaborating with the company Ravon, designing the “BlueDot” series of washbasins and bathtubs inspired by the iconic cobalt-blue dots characteristic of Bolesławiec ceramics.
Collections of tableware designed by Dr Gazur are held in the permanent collections of the National Museum in Kraków, the National Museum in Wrocław, the Ceramics Museum in Bolesławiec, and the Regional Ceramics Museum in Deruta, Italy.
The project “Joining the Shards. Upskilling of Museum Operators for the Valorization and Narration of EU Ceramic Heritage Impacted by War and Conflict” is co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Programme.
The War Childhood Museum Foundation’s work focuses on the experiences of children growing up during armed conflicts.
As a project partner, the War Childhood Museum Foundation will contribute its expertise in storytelling techniques and cultural narratives for ceramic heritage.
