Today marks the start of the Vienna Design Week, which is filled with more events, workshops, lectures, talks, openings and exhibitions anyone could possible visit. So I went through the extensive programm and picked a few – must see – events for you to visit. As most of us have jobs and other responsibilities, and only own two legs, I picked the most interesting ones for each day of the 10 day festival.
FRI 25.9
SOTTSASS ON PAPER – Exhibition
Opening at 6:30pm
Open till Saturday 3.10.2015
As part of the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK France’s leading auction house and European leader in design Artcurial is presenting a collection of drawings and watercolors by the world-famous designer and architect Ettore Sottsass. With exhibits from an Italian private collection the exhibition pays homage to the important Italian designer who for decades has had a formative influence on the international design scene with his works in industrial, furniture and product design. The Austrian branch of the Artcurial auction house has been established on Rudolfsplatz in Vienna since October last year.
SAT 26.9
POLISH DESIGN STORIES – Exhibition
Cocktail at 5pm
Finissage 04.10.2015 4pm
Writing design history is often limited to placing designer objects on a timeline. But what makes an icon? In search for an answer, 366 Concept analyzed the most notable Polish furniture designs from two most dynamic periods: the 1950s and 60s and the first two decades of the 21st Century. The selected objects were divided into two groups, according to the observa- tion that the term “iconic” is applied both to mass produced and widely accessible pieces of furniture, as well as items, whose images were popularized through various publications and exhibitions. Each telling a unique story, the pieces contribute to a multi-faceted image of Polish design. Cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Poland and the Polish Institute Vienna.
SUN 27.9
VDW goes Favoriten by bike – Tour
2–5pm
TICKETS
For the second time the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK is organizing a bike tour, this time exploring the 10th district, where the urban landscape was once shaped by brick production sites. One tour feature concentrates on this central theme about Favoriten, otherwise the tour takes bikers to many stations of the formats Stadtarbeit and Passionswege, based on the diverse design topics featured in the Festival Headquarters. Participants get an in-depth view of local production sites, follow the development of selected social design projects and thus gain new perspectives on what is at present the most exciting district in Vienna. More info.
MON 28.9
“CrowdFinding”: The Empowerment Of The Local Community – Exhibition
Opening at 6pm
Open till Fr 2.10.2015
The exhibition presents the success stories of young Slovenian designers – stories about empowerment and responsibility towards a local community: From an expandable bike fender that is now being sold at the MoMA’s design store in New York to wooden pinhole cameras that are taking the international photography community by storm. The exhibition informs and encourages young designers to explore the benefits of crowd funding. It illustrates how to engage and interact with the community in developing sustainable projects with a social impact and furthermore stresses the importance of supporting emerging designers. With the kind support of the Slovenian Culture and Information
Center – SKICA.
TUE 29.9
“AUF DEN ERSTEN BLICK. JUNGE ILLUSTRATION AUS WIEN” – Exhibition
Opening at 6:30pm
Open till 31.1.2016
The exhibition, which will be opened as part of the Vienna Design Week, presented some representatives of the younger generation of illustrators, working in Vienna. The works range from striking Children’s Book Illustrations to the ironic collage, from shrill Gig Posters by Edel-commercial. Is Designed issuing Studio VIE. For details on the exhibition:http://www.wienmuseum.at/
the opening play of the Austrian bassist Lukas Kranzelbinder.
Illustration above: (c) Francesco Ciccolella
WED 30.9
VIENNA DESIGN COOK – Dinner
Eva Fischer (Foodtastic) und Eva Fischer (sound:frame)
7pm–12am
This year the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK is serving up a special version of their gourmet program: VIENNA DESIGN COOK. The food and media expert Alexandra Palla requests chefs and designers to host a dinner or lunch. How task distribution is actually organized remains open. The connections between the professions are obvious, of course: both are interested in a material’s origin and quality, in virtuosity of workmanship, in exploring new task areas and in public reactions.
Price: dinner 65 Euros, Sunday lunch
45 Euros per person including drinks
and shuttle. Registration: eat@viennadesignweek.at
facebook event
THU 1.10
Service Design applied – Talk
at 6:30pm
Innovative service ideas such as individual hotel room selection at booking, mobile check-in, room key on the smart phone, the integrated co-working space in the lobby are all features of the Hotel Schani Wien, illustrating how the results of design research can be put into practice. Architect Gabriel Kacerovsky, client Benedikt Komarek and Vanessa Borkmann from the Frauenhofer Insititute for Work Management and Organization discuss the topic The realization of research results in service and interior design.
FRI 2.10
2051: SMART LIFE IN THE CITY – Tour
by MAK – Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst
at 4:30pm
How do we want to live in the future? As part of the VIENNA BIENNALE 2015, the exhibition project organized by MAK and the Vienna Business Agency, Creative Center departure, examines the role of design
as a tool for a positive change. Ten teams worked out ideas for urban everyday life in the future that can be tested and discussed. Integrated into the urban environment of Vienna they aim to provide motiva- tion for becoming part of the process of change and an intelligent – smart – vision of the city. Curator guided tour with Harald Gruendl (EOOS/ Institute of Design Research Vienna) and Thomas Geisler, senior curator of the MAK Col- lection Design. The free Ideas for Change app assists in navi- gating through the “city 2051”.
SAT 3.9
Viennese (Hi)Stories – Talk
in the Laboratory in the Festival Headquarters
at 5:30pm
As an interdisciplinary laboratory and par- ticipative showroom the Laboratory puts the spotlight on work processes of designers from the fields of architecture, graphics and product design and makes them accessible to the public.
Under the motto Viennese (Hi)Stories the Laboratory this year focuses on its immediate surroundings, the district of Favoriten. Around twenty visual motifs from the most populous urban district of Vienna hang on the walls as preprinted tearoff pads for people to take with them. Roomfilling instructions challenge public and design teams to work interactively and associate freely with these pictures and to try out experimental methods for telling stories.
Curators: Lilli Hollein, Erwin K. Bauer Scenography: Robert Rüf
SUN 4.9
New Local – Finissage Brunch
Bring your food, bring your culture!
at 11am–2pm
At the New Local brunch, visitors are invited to bring homemade food and drinks to share. The closing brunch serves as a lively platform to encourage interaction with other participants in order to get to know more about each other. The design teams will visualize and keep track of the participants’ national backgrounds and the food brought. Results of the past months’ research on immigration will be presented on the spot.
Additionally there are dozens of interesting exhibition and events happening during the Vienna Design Week, most of which will be open from 25.9 till 4.10. See the full program at www.viennadesignweek.com/events and find your favourite ones.
Images via Kollektiv Fischka / Kramar and VDW