Symposium: The Global Shift – Who shapes the future of design?
www.design-museum.de/globalshift
At the start of the 21st century, major shifts in global power structures coincide – and possibly correlate – with a mounting discussion around the potential of design. The Vitra Design Museum’s current exhibition »Making Africa – A Continent of Contemporary Design« suggests that African design and art can make a unique contribution to this discussion. To delve deeper into this subject matter, the Vitra Design Museum brings together prominent thinkers and designers from the Global North and the Global South in Milan for a special one-day series of discussions and lectures. Speakers are invited to explore pertinent areas of contemporary design discourse such as the future of production, social design and the merger of analogue and digital technologies. The question at hand: Can concepts that originate outside our traditional, Western-centric understanding of design offer an entirely new perspective and perhaps more relevant approaches in addressing today’s challenges? Speakers at the event include the South African industrial design professor Mugendi M’Rhitaa, innovation pioneer Anil Gupta from India, the British architect and serial co-founder of social ventures Indy Johar, designers Mario Minale and Thibaut Brevet, Joseph Grima of Space Caviar and Jan Boelen, director of Z33, a leading European design and art institution. During the Salone del Mobile 2015, the historic Palazzo Clerici at Milan’s city centre will become a point of intense activity, speculation and discussion around future conditions of living. A diverse array of installations, micro-exhibitions and events organised by some of Europe’s most renowned designers and institutions will animate the palazzo each day. Further participants are Domus Academy,Dirty Furniture, Jesse Howard, Maniera, Minale-Maeda, OpenDesk, PIN-UP, PROKOSS + Space Caviar, PROOFFLab Magazine, SYNOPSIS, Unfold, Vincent Tarisien and Z33 and more. Image from the Vitra Design Museum exhibition »Making Africa – A Continent of Contemporary Design«: Tahir Carl Karmali. Jua Kali, 2014. Untitled 2. Inkjet print on paper, 45.72 × 30.48
