Action Renovation !

CEPELIA NEON ROOSTER

  At 37 Grzybowska Street the regional sales office of the Central Association of Cooperatives of Folk and Artistic Crafts “Cepelia” was located.  On the corner of an inconspicuous and undistinguished four-story office building, there was a large double neon sign.  It consisted of the necessary framing to support the structure, red tubes arranged in the shape of a rooster with a spirally curled tail and beneath it the inscription Cepelia.  The ‘Rooster’ is immediately associated with the products of Polish folk crafts - a simplistic but eloquent translation into modern neon language from the Lowicz (pronounced Wovitch) culture, which loved to cut “rooster” forms out of paper or carve them in wood.  Although the building was located at some distance from Grzybowska Street, due to its large size, the impressive sign was perfectly visible to passers-by.  The neon artist Krystyna Kolodziej was responsible for the design of the distinctive neon sign.

   The land on which the office building and several other structures were located was bought by Matexi Poland where it built a 17-story residential apartment block in 2021-23. Cepelia's original neon sign was saved by the Neon Muzeum.  In turn, the original rooster itself - with the museum’s slogan “Together we light up the city” - was affixed to the façade of the new residential building.  The dimensions of the dazzling neon ‘Rooster’ are 4.8 by 4 meters. This new installment of the Action Renovation ! - initiated by the Neon Muzeum - in which historic neon signs are repaired or restored in-situ, was made possible thanks to the energetic support of Matexi Polska.

  Cepelia, or Headquarters of the Folk and Artistic Industry, was an organisation of cooperatives of folk and artistic handicrafts.  It was established in 1949 by the communist authorities.  As part of its activities, Cepelia operated numerous trading posts, promoting and selling folk art products. Cepelia was liquidated in 1990, and several separate entities were created on its basis. In 2020, the Cepelia Polska Sztuka i Rekodzielo Foundation, which had trademark rights to the mark and former properties, ceased operations.  The luminous “Rooster” is a reminder of the heyday of the fashion for Polish folklore.

NM