An exhibition by Czech Centres at the Struwwelpeter Museum in Frankfurt am Main. The exhibition is part of the Year of Czech Culture in the German-speaking countries, organised on the occasion of the Czech Republic’s Guest of Honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026.
Children’s books illustrated not only with colours and lines, but with materials such as textiles, metal and found objects. Books that unfold into delicate three-dimensional objects when opened. And children’s books that lead into virtual worlds and take on a second life as films or interactive games.
The touring exhibition “Beyond Paper Plane” demonstrates just how radical, experimental and surprising contemporary Czech picture-book art can be. Curated by Emma Hanzlíková and designed by the OKOLO design studio, the exhibition presents extraordinary works by Czech illustrators and artists who push the medium of the book far beyond its traditional boundaries. The project was developed by Czech Centres.
“Beyond Paper Plane” approaches the children’s book not as a flat printed page, but as a space, an object and an experience. The exhibition brings together books and prototypes that move between artwork, design object, reading experience and play. Visitors encounter delicate paper architectures, textile illustrations, optical illusions, pop-up worlds and interactive books inviting them to draw, solve puzzles or explore digital environments.
At the heart of the exhibition are eight thematic chapters demonstrating the many forms illustration can take today: from sculptural objects and soft embroidery to avant-garde paper collages, experimental leporellos and immersive visual worlds. The artists work with materials rarely associated with books, including metal, fabric, transparent film, photographs and found objects.
The exhibition also creates a bridge between the past and present of Czech book art. It draws inspiration, among other sources, from the legendary pop-up books published by the Czechoslovak publishing house Artia and the visionary work of Vojtěch Kubašta and Rudolf Lukeš, whose three-dimensional books achieved cult status around the world. Today’s generation of artists builds on this tradition while developing it through new technologies and contemporary artistic strategies, extending it into areas such as animation and games.
The exhibition architecture itself tells a story. The works are presented in modular “banana boxes”, evoking the familiar image of books being transported. The design consistently follows the principle of “form follows function”, transforming everyday transport crates into poetic exhibition spaces. The books literally travel around the world, packed in the very crates in which they are displayed.
“Beyond Paper Plane” is therefore much more than an exhibition about children’s books. It is an invitation to rediscover the book as a tactile experience, an artistic experiment and a medium whose particular power becomes all the more apparent in the digital age.
At a time when artificial intelligence can generate texts and screens dominate everyday life, the exhibition celebrates materiality, imagination and the immediate experience of reading. It makes one thing clear: the printed book is alive, and perhaps it has never been more exciting than it is today.
Curator: Emma Hanzlíková
Architecture & Graphic Design: OKOLO (Matěj Činčera & Jan Kloss)
Developed, produced and organised by: Czech Centres / Anna Hrabáčková, Anastasia Artemyak
An accompanying programme will be held in conjunction with the exhibition; further details will be announced at a later date.
Partner institutions: Struwwelpeter Museum and Czech Centre Berlin
