Twelve DAE alumni will be presenting their graduation projects in Shenzhen, China, as part of the OCT LOFT Creative Arts Festival. Curators Thomas Widdershoven and Jan Konings will be creating the exhibition with the theme Self Unself, the same thread that ran through the Graduation Show and the show at the Van Abbe Museum. This Design Academy Eindhoven exhibition will run from December 2013 until the beginning of March 2014.
Self Unself in Four Locations
The theme Self Unself focuses on designers who are presenting not only their designs to the world, but also themselves. The theme is a reflection of the developments the curators have observed in society as well as in the work of the Design Academy Eindhoven graduates. Shenzhen is the third instalment in a series of four Self Unself exhibitions in different locations. In April 2014 Thomas Widdershoven, Creative Director of Design Academy Eindhoven, and Jan Konings will be creating the fourth Self Unself exhibition during the Salone del Mobile in Milan.
Issues Instead of Icons
Design today is no longer about collectables and icons, but about issues. Thomas Widdershoven: "The field of action of designers is extending. Designers are tackling major issues in society, such as ageing populations, ecology, the economy, energy, urbanisation and mobility. Dave Hakkens is a great example: with his ‘Phone Bloks’ he is presenting a modular smartphone, designed in a retro-modernist style. Something that may seem a mere gadget, a collectable at first. But the problem Dave is trying to solve is that of our wasting of resources and energy, because of the short lifespan of the smartphone. What’s more, his modular phone is set to be manufactured in an open-source collaboration, allowing smaller companies to penetrate the smartphone industry. Dave anticipated considerable resistance from the industry and has created a highly successful social media campaign in order to influence the industry via the general public. Such a convergence of issues, personal inspiration and a unique design is characteristic of the work of the new generation of designers.”
Shenzhen Design City
Shenzhen was appointed ‘Creative City’ within the network of partner cities by UNESCO in 2009. The appointment fitted in with Shenzen’s ambition to become the creative city of the future. OCT-LOFT is a former factory grounds that has been converted into a creative hub which houses all kinds of museums, bazaars and creative entrepreneurs. The annual Creative Arts Festival is centred on the theme 'Design Research & Education' in 2013-14. Design Academy Eindhoven will be exhibiting at building B10, alongside seven other creative universities and art schools, including Geneva University of Art and Design, the Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Public Art Lab Berlin and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Practical:
OCT LOFT Creative Arts Festival, Shenzhen, China
December 8 – March 8
www.octloft.cn
Exhibitors in B10:
Design Academy Eindhoven | Sandberg Institute | Public Art Lab Berlin | Zurich University of the Arts | Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design | Geneva University of Art and Design | ZKM, Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Exhibitors Design Academy Eindhoven:
1. Alicia Ongay Perez: Inside Out
2. Aurelie Hoegy: the Border between normality and abnormality
3. Bora Hong: Cosmetic Surgery Kingdom
4. Daniela Dossi: Micro Utopias
5. David Hakkens: Phoneblocks
6. Echo Yang: Autonomous Machines
7. Inge Kuipers: Tea-set Touch
8. Irma Foldenyi: Digitalogue
9. Massoud Hassani: Mine Kafon
10. Monica Alisse: Designing the News
11. Nina van Bart: The Alchemist
12. Tristan Girard: Constructed Nature