The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, known as U(P)M, collects and preserves national and international examples of historical and contemporary crafts, as well as applied arts and design. Through a belief in the harmony between function, quality and beauty, it aims to inspire, educate and entertain in a unique way.

Founded in 1885, the museum's collections include: glass, ceramics and porcelain; graphic arts and photography; furniture and metalworks; and textiles, fashion and toys. The museum's recent publications include an examination of fashion behind the Iron Curtain, a profile of glass artist Vaclav Cigler, and Design in the Czech Lands 1900-2000.

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The East Bohemian Museum in Pardubice is housed within a Renaissance castle surrounded by unique fortifications. Founded in 1880 by passionate local history enthusiasts, the museum has been a beacon of knowledge for over a century. Secrets of centuries past are displayed through the fascinating exhibition of weapons, numismatics and rare treasures. There is a permanent exhibition on artisan glassmaking, showcasing mesmerising atelier glass artwork.

This permanent exhibition unveils a collection of original creations by Czech glass artists from the late 1950s to the present day, including Stanislav Libenský, Jaroslava Brychtová and other renowned glass artists. Wandering through the exhibition, it is clear to see the evolution and transformative journey of the most eminent figures in Czech atelier glass, such as Václav Cigler, Bohumil Eliáš and others.

Pardubice Castle - Glass museum

Glass in a castle museum

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The monumental Renaissance revival building of the Museum of Applied Arts in Brno was built in the 19th century and houses the Moravian Gallery in Brno since 1961 after merging with the Picture Gallery of the Moravian Regional Museum, making it the largest institution of its kind in Czechia. It holds a collection of applied arts from the Middle Ages to the present day composed of 13,000 glass, ceramic, porcelain, textile, furniture and metalware items.

The museum was founded in 1873 based on the model of the Vienna Museum of Art and Industry and opened to the public in 1883, making it one of the oldest of its kind in the world. Adapted after the Second World War according to the project of Bohuslav Fuchs, the last reconstruction was completed in 2021. Today the museum focuses on a new concept investigating the relationships between art, design and fashion through permanent and temporary exhibitions housed in the museum’s new facilities; designed exclusively by leading Czech designers.

Museum of Applied Arts - Brnno, Czechia

Investigating the connections between art, design and fashion

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Glass Museum Nový Bor was established in 1893 thanks to the Professional Glassmakers Union and is situated in the late-baroque house at the town square. The development of Bohemian glass from the 17th century to today is illustrated by archival pictorial documentation. The permanent exhibition spreads over the two floors and is divided into four sections according to refining techniques – engraved, blown, cut and painted glass. Each section also contains a historical model of a relevant workshop.

In the newly built section, you can experience varying shows focusing on the local traditions of glassmaking like the history and present of Nový Bor glass school. Among the exhibitions is a triennale show presenting results from the International Glass Symposiums (I.G.S) held in Nový Bor. The I.G.S. belongs to the most important creative world events in the art glass field. Since 1982 the works of several hundreds of artists from the whole world have been displayed here.

Glass Museum Nový Bor

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This museum established in 1904 presents a unique collection of glass, costume jewellery, glass jewellery, medals and plaques. The main museum building offers two exhibitions: Bohemian Glass in Seven Centuries and The Endless Story of Jewellery, which is claimed to be the largest collection of fashion jewellery in the world. Strong scenographic elements help to guide the visitors along the timeline of the history of glass.

Visitors are introduced to costume jewellery stones, glass and seed beads, glass buttons, metal jewellery, glass bangles and jewellery made of plastic and wood, as well as the contemporary studio jewellery.  The museum organises several thematic exhibitions a year and a triennale showing the latest creations within glass and fashion jewellery from both foreign and Czech design studios. At Kristiánov, once the most important glass settlement in the region, a model of glass production is shown in a timbered house from the 18th century.

Museum of Glass and Jewellery

Glass and jewels: a world of wonders

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Developed in partnership with Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte and made possible by the support of Cartier, Homo Faber in Città gives you a rare chance to visit over 70 artisan workshops. The project is developed in collaboration with Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Confartigianato Imprese Venezia, CNA Venezia, Consorzio Promovetro Murano, The Venice Glass Week and Venezia da Vivere.

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Step inside the workshops and ateliers to learn the secrets of local master artisans and manufacturers

Try your hand at different crafts with an authentic experience

Marvel at examples of fine craftsmanship by doing our itineraries

This september, the second edition of Homo Faber in Città invites visitors to step off the beaten track and discover the artisanal addresses where Venetian craftspeople create objects of exquisite beauty. A rare opportunity to witness Venice’s master artisans and young talents demonstrating their crafts and presenting the tools, materials and skills involved in contemporary Venetian craftsmanship.

Enrich your experience beyond Homo Faber 2024: The Journey of Life

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Homo Faber Guide is an online portal dedicated to contemporary craftsmanship, showcasing artisans, ateliers, museums, galleries, shops and experiences. Create your user account for access to exclusive features on Homo Faber Guide: save your preferred pages, hear about hot topics first, leave recommendations for your favourite artisans and much more.

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Although the Michelangelo Foundation researches the talents for its projects autonomously, collaboration with our ambassadors is fundamental. Over 120 associations, schools and institutions allow us to map the continents for craftsmanship and to have partners in each country who share our vision and goals. In addition, we have asked well-known personalities in the craft, design and art world to be our ambassadors in the cities where they live, so that their recommendations can offer a unique insight into craftsmanship in the major cities of Europe and beyond.

Who are our ambassadors?

Download our free Homo Faber Guide app (iOS and Android) to discover artisans, museums, galleries, shops, and experiences by location. Search Homo Faber on the App store on your mobile device.

Find craftsmanship destinations on the go

Discover the addresses of esteemed manufacturers, well known for producing high quality objects across a wide variety of crafts. Read their stories and find out where you can shop their contemporary pieces, see their archive collections and even in some cases visit their workshops. Find exceptional ateliers where artisans collaborate creatively to create fine pieces of craftsmanship. Reach out to them to commission something special.

Ateliers & Manufacturers

All the artisans and small workshops featured in Homo Faber Guide have been carefully researched and selected. They are presented and narrated through a selection of images and an interview, which allows readers to immerse themselves in the universe of these makers who exemplify excellence in their individual fields or are promising talents of the future. Find masters and rising stars who share the same passion and determination, and whose workshops are ready to share their secrets with visitors.

A selection of the best artisans

Are you eager to discover a city through craftsmanship? Do you wish to spend a few hours visiting an applied arts museum or attending a course on a craft with one of the masters featured in Homo Faber Guide? Browse the section dedicated to experiences and find your next adventure.

Experiences

An expert artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years. He or she may also be engaged in passing on their knowledge to the next generations, but they have been doing so for less than seven years. Beyond this, they will become a Master artisan.

Who is an Expert artisan?

Homo Faber Guide provides you with a selection of the best addresses across Europe and further afield, where you will be able to discover and purchase exceptional objects, some of which are created by artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide.

Galleries

Homo Faber Guide is an online platform dedicated to craftsmanship that allows you to discover artisans and their masterpieces; explore museums, visit galleries and shops selling unique objects; enjoy experiences in cities across Europe and beyond.

Homo Faber Guide is a signature project developed by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, an international non-profit organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, which was set up in 2016 thanks to the intuition of Franco Cologni and Johann Rupert. The Michelangelo Foundation’s mission is to celebrate and preserve master craftsmanship, and for this reason it has created a map of the most significant representatives in this field, with the aim of connecting all its protagonists: artisans, designers, gallery owners, art curators, collectors and enthusiasts of high-quality handmade pieces.

About the Guide

Are you an artisan, atelier or manufacturer? Would you like to be featured in Homo Faber Guide? The Michelangelo Foundation encourages self-assessment initiatives and is pleased to evaluate new members to appear on the Guide or in other projects. Thanks to the Master’s Touch Evaluation Tool, every artisan can send their application: register and access a questionnaire to see if you fulfill the 11 criteria for excellence that stand behind all the activities of the Michelangelo Foundation. If your answers reach the minimum requirement, your application will be brought to our attention; if, on the contrary, you should score below the minimum requirement, we will give you some points for improvement, in the hope that you may participate in future initiatives of the Michelangelo Foundation.

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Our artisan labels

A master artisan is an accomplished artisan who has been in activity for more than ten years, and who has also been engaged in passing on his or her expertise to the younger generations for more than seven years. This is in keeping with one of the key values of the Michelangelo Foundation: the transmission of knowledge in craftsmanship.

Who is a Master artisan?

Find museums handpicked for their links to contemporary craftsmanship and the exquisite collections they have on display. In each city, discover a museum of interest and organise your visit. From Italian museums displaying coral collections, glass pieces and ceramics to decorative art museums in Russia and Greece, marvel at the variety of museums exhibiting masterpieces, showcasing techniques and recounting histories.

Museums

A rising star is an artisan who has been active for less than ten years, and who is capable of expressing his or her craft with competence, creativity and originality. Whether self-taught or trained, the rising star represents the future of craftsmanship, in creativity, concerns and approaches.

Who is a Rising star?

The artisans featured in Homo Faber Guide have been selected through a meticulous assessment process based on the 11 criteria for excellence, identified by Alberto Cavalli, Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation, in the volume The Master’s Touch, written with researchers Giuditta Comerci and Giovanna Marchello. The members of the Michelangelo Foundation’s network who have been invited to participate in sourcing artisans for the Guide use an evaluation tool based on these criteria. In this way, they can identify the most suitable artisans to include in the project.

Simple rules for a transparent selection

In which city does the artisan work?

In which country does the artisan practise?

What craft does the artisan practise?

What is the artisan’s Instagram page?

What is the name of the artisan you are recommending?

Does the artisan have a website?

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