The experimental and the innovative at Dutch Design Week 2017
We’ve been looking forward to Dutch Design Week for months now. The biggest event of its kind in northern Europe, DDW 2017 will showcase exhibitions and events from more than 2,500 participating designers and brands. Frame will be there with pop-up stores in the Klokgebouw and de Bijenkorf, as well as Minds events on 21 and 28 October to discuss the future direction of Dutch design.
In addition to the In No Particular Order exhibition in the Van Abbemuseum by designers including Simone Post, Studio Truly Truly, and Paula Arntzen, here is our list of this year’s DDW must-sees.
Mined – Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2017
De Witte Dame, Emmasingel 14, entrance floor 3, 5611AZ Eindhoven
Representing the next generation of designers, students from the Design Academy Eindhoven offer a critique of the modern world through their thoughtful products. The graduation show features work inspired by myriad social and cultural issues including connecting with the Syrian community in Amsterdam, uncomfortable confrontations due to conflicting hygiene standards, and exploring the intersection of colonialism and local art and craftsmanship.
Enlighten – Dutch Invertuals x Luxaflex
Fuutlaan 14, 5613 AB Eindhoven
The creative collective Dutch Invertuals collaborates with the Luxaflex brand to reimagine the role of lighting in everyday life in the exhibition Enlighten. Combining the designers’ experimental and research-oriented approach with Luxaflex products, the exhibition redraws the boundaries between aesthetics, experience, and functionality.
Envisions x Finsa at VDMA
VDMA, Vestdijk 25-27, 5611 CA Eindhoven
Studio Envisions transforms the VDMA building at Dutch Design Week in an experimental collaboration with Spanish wood manufacturer Finsa. The venue is reimagined as a conceptual breeding ground with various exhibitions such as the Robotanica expo by Transnatural, showcasing works that improve urban ecology, explore human hair as a raw material, and renegotiate the relationship between ecosystems and technology. Several talks, performances and workshops will take place there throughout the week, providing a congruent conceptual current alongside the tangible work.
Hardcore – Core Studio
Q-Park, Nieuwe Emmasingel 85, Floor -2, 5611 AM Eindhoven
Trend-forecasting and design consultancy firm Core Studio invites young designers to explore materiality as a countermovement to digitalization in the Hardcore exhibition. Oriented around the motifs of reliability, intuitive design, and embracing reality, the works follow the ‘aesthetic of efficiency’ and ‘hyper-ordinary’ trends.
Embassy of Intimacy World Design Event – The No Sex Shop x MU
Opposite to Leidingstraat 45, 5617 BD Eindhoven
Taking a multidisciplinary and adventurous approach, MU artspace creates the Embassy of Intimacy exhibition for a commentary on unwritten social protocol. The intangible conflicts between emotion and reason which we face every day become more visible through the performances and works of various designers, curated by Tom Loois and Angelique Spaninks.
Transitions III – Baars & Bloemhoff
Broeinest, Torenallee 45, 5617 BA Eindhoven
Organized by Baars & Bloemhoff, Transitions III presents the work of six design studios tasked with exploring the properties and potential applications of the company’s decorative materials. The results are an intriguing mix of abstract forms, unexpected combinations, and tactile textures under the DDW theme ‘Stretch’.
Leaf – Sunbrella
Kazerne, Paradijslaan 2-8, 5611 KN Eindhoven
In addition to the Connexions installation by Charles Pétillon, the versatile Sunbrella fabric is brought to bear in Leaf: two original parasols designed by Michiel de Greef and Dries van Wagenberg. Merging a folding fan with a traditional umbrella, Leaf takes inspiration from natural forest canopies to incorporate four separate leaves which can be fitted and individually adjusted for maximum protection. From functional objects to outdoor art installations, the textile comprised of 50% recycled fibre can be applied to anything under the sun – allowing designers to take advantage of its anti-fading properties to add an inviting aesthetic to various contexts.
Dutch Design Week 2017 takes place in over 100 locations all over Eindhoven from 21 – 29 October.