New economy, new media, new times and values
The 11th edition of the Łódź Design Festival will take place from 3rd to 8th October and its theme will be OD.NOWA (A.NEW). Exhibitions, lectures, discussion panels and workshops will be focused on the theme of contemporary design in the context of redesigning.
Łódź Design Festival is currently the most important international event in design in Central and Eastern Europe. It presents design in various aspects – from industrial design, art and craft design, graphic design and architecture, to fashion. The 11th edition of the festival will take place under the slogan OD.NOWA (A.NEW).
– ‘New’ seems to be the most important feature of the present days. We have questioned many old truths and dead ways of thinking. For the first time in history, in highly developed societies, the youngest generations live in a world completely different from the one in which their parents grew up. Unusual changes in technology, society and environment motivate us to constantly seek new solutions. At every stage of our lives we face new challenges. How will we live, work, spend our free time? How will our cities look like and how will we move? In what world will we be born, grow up and grow old? We have decided to ask these questions to designers, curators and brands with whom we prepare this year’s edition of the festival. – says Michał Piernikowski, director of Łódź Design Festival.
The aging of the population reflects deep changes in human life conditions. This is due to a gradual increase in life expectancy, with a decrease in fertility and mortality. In the UK, over the past two decades, the average life expectancy has increased by five years – half of the babies born today will live to be 103 years old. How will we live through this time? Will we enjoy the independence and good quality of life? For the first time in Poland, straight from the prestigious London Design Museum, the exhibition New Old – Design for Our Future Selves inspires us to rethink the approach to the design dedicated to the elderly. Curators Helen Hamlyn and Jeremy Myerson will present projects by world-renowned creators: Konstantin Grcic, IDEO, Yves Béhar / fuseproject, Future Facility, Special Projects and Priestman Goode.
Another important point of this year’s Łódź Design Festival is the Polish premiere of the Urban Dreams exhibition organized by the Vitra Design Museum. The curators Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have prepared an inspirational study of possible scenarios of urban development, emphasizing the need to re-introduce nature: plants, animals, water and fire to our everyday environment. Spectacular staging of the exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on the relationships that take place between nature and the city, suggesting new directions for the development of urban space.
The festival program consists of nearly 30 exhibitions, which will be available from 3rd October
in the festival center at 3 Tymienieckiego St. in Łódź. Apart from mentioned New Old
and Urban Dreams, other exhibitions include, among others, Polish Design Island 2017 – result of the cooperation of 9 regions of Poland in form of a container traveling through Europe and presenting 27 Polish designers; The Best Polish Illustrators, presenting 39 works by the best contemporary Polish illustrators; and the enigmatic, community-created Mystery Things Museum collection that travels around the world and is enriched with more interesting and beautiful objects whose function is initially difficult to guess. As every year, the presentation of the results of the must have plebiscite will feature the best Polish implementations, and the exhibition presenting the finalists of the 10th international makeme! is a chance to learn about the topics that inspire the best designers of the young generation.
However, Łódź Design Festival is not just about exhibitions, it is primarily a place for creative meetings and lively discussions. The event is organized not only for professionals from the design industry, but for anyone who likes to creatively spend time, regardless of age or profession. One of the most important points of the festival is Educreation – a zone for families with children. The youngest participants can attend workshops in the field of 3D printing, building robots or even programming and coding. Children also can participate in design lessons in the form of guided walks on selected exhibitions, the City and Forest exhibition, and an interactive calendar that brings you closer to the natural world.
Professionals will be able to participate in lecture panels and thematic blocks that oscillate around architectural themes, new economics, business, urban space, market research and design trends. Experts representing such brands as Ceramika Paradyż, IKEA, Rado, Interprint and AkzoNobel have been invited to co-operate on the event program. The special guest of the festival will be Jenny B. Osuldsen from the architectural studio Snøhetta. This internationally renowned firm specializes in architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and design, employing 180 people from 30 countries. In 1989 the studio received its first order – for the project of the Alexandria Library in Egypt.
The opening of the Łódź Design Festival (3 October, 18:30) will surely be an exciting event, during which we will get to know the winners of the make me! contest prizes – PARADYŻ AWARD in the amount of 20,000 PLN, sponsored by the Patron of the Festival – Ceramika Paradyż and a special prize of 10,000 PLN.
More information on the festival is available at www.lodzdesign.com