Nine days, 2600 designers, 120 locations, 355,000 visitors and 450 events: these are just some of the numbers of Dutch Design Week. The initiative on design, mostly with an eye on the future, is held in Eindhoven, Holland, from 19 to 27 October.
After the theme of the last edition, If not us, then who?, implying a perspective of responsible choice, in 2019 the question is If not now, when?, urging the design world to take immediate action. The director of DDW Martijn Paulen explains this choice: ” In the field of technology, developments are moving faster than ever and the possibilities are endless. The economy is running at full speed again, there is good education, and society is opening up to innovation, change and improvement. In short, the future looks bright. At the same time, significant obstacles to urgent issues still need to be overcome and a clear impetus to action is needed.”
Founded in 1998 with the aim of bringing visibility to designers and entrepreneurs, the event has grown by leaps and bounds, year after year, and now extends to sectors other than design. Just consider the DDW Music festival, focusing on Dutch music at 360°.
The initiative is based on the format of the FuoriSalone, and takes place in various parts of the city. Exhibitions, talks, workshops and events are covered by the complete, variegated program.
Lots of Italy, as usual, starting with Stefano Boeri, president of the Milan Triennale and ambassador for 2019, together with Alice Rawsthorn, Jalila Essaïdi, Lonneke Gordijn & Ralph Nauta (Studio Drift).
We should also mention the participation of Isola Design District, the youngest Milanese district and a project of territorial marketing that promotes new faces of international design and local artisans in the Isola area of Milan, through exhibitions and workshops.
The program also includes an exhibition curated by Blank, the creative agency that has invented and organized the event, titled Unlimited Design – Dutch Edition: “We are really proud to have been selected within the official program of such an important international event as the Dutch Design Week – says Gabriele Cavallaro co-founder of Blank and Isola Design District’s Project Manager. – The visit we made last October during the 2018 edition of the event was fundamental to cultivate our network of contacts in the Netherlands and understand that this would be the best context for Isola Design District outside the Italian borders, being very coherent with the vision of our project.”
The exhibition of Isola Design District will be held in the Pennings Foundation gallery and will present projects by 35 designers. One area of the space will be set aside for the Milan Design Market, where it will also be possible to purchase some of the items on display, like the recycled glass vases by Anna Jožová or the ones enhanced by crocheted fabrics by Gilles Werbrouck. The main sponsors? Lavazza and 3M.
