Search anything

Close search
Updates

DDW presents 2020 theme: The new intimacy

07 July 2020

The theme for the 19th Dutch Design Week (DDW) will be ‘The new intimacy’. This trains the festival’s focus on the search for new forms of intimacy. A new equilibrium in a time when Covid-19 is one of the major factors accelerating our exploration of different ways of relating to each other and the world around us. Apply now!

DDW20 Theme: The new intimacy

The Covid-19 pandemic has accentuated the urgency of major social challenges we have been aware of for quite some time, such as climate change, inequality and poverty. This has compelled us to find ways to relate differently towards each other, the world around us, our stuff, our health, our data and our government at an accelerated pace. Our scope has become smaller and more intimate, while the connection with others is further removed than ever before. The search for a new equilibrium has commenced. A balance in which important values such as intimacy and affection are not to be lost. A challenge that requires knowledge, imaginative power and inventiveness from designers. Deploying optimism and creativity, they come up with new concepts that inspire, conceive wonderment and incite action. Designers show us how we can relate to each other and the world in this new reality.

Play video

Apply for DDW20!

The festival will take place both online and ‘live’. The recent easing in RIVM Covid-19 regulations facilitates the expansion of the ‘live’ component. Therefore, designers can now apply to participate in both the online and physical components of the festival.

There will be an extensive online programme with virtual exhibitions by designers around the world, live streams, video content, DDW talks, virtual parties and more. All approved participants will be part of the online programme and will have designated digital space at their disposal, where they can lay out a virtual 3D exhibition. For the 'live' component, there are a limited number of bricks-and-mortar venues that the organisation will coordinate in consultation with the design community. Contact the DDW programme team for details of the options for the ‘live’ locations. Apply for DDW20 before the 1st of September!