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Countdown to Dutch Design Week 2021

14 October 2021

2 min. to read

Dutch Design Week (DDW) is coming. And how! Eight areas throughout Eindhoven. But where can you find what to do and how do you choose? Help is on the way. The projects and exhibitions below are just a small selection of the DDW programme. The complete program overview can be found at www.ddw.nl.

Inclusion and geopolitics

This year, the Van Abbemuseum offers a diverse program focusing on inclusiveness and geopolitical forces. For example, the 1m2 collective asks how inclusive is DDW as a festival. In GEO-DESIGN, DAE alumni explore the social, economic, territorial and geopolitical forces shaping contemporary design.

A closer look at relationships with resources and nature

At MU, SMELT and The Performance Bar present a brand new science: Roesologie (buzzology). This is an unorthodox study with designers, performers, experts, and experiential experts into the role of substance use in our society. You will also find the Bio Stories project here, in which the Faber Futures team led by ambassador Natsai Audrey-Chieza, together with the DDW audience, rethinks our relationship with nature. Every day for three days, a forum is held in which everyone can participate.

Young Talent

Design Academy Eindhoven shows off another high-level Graduation Show. New this year: the innovative and improved index of their catalogue and the location. The Graduation Show is in the Beursgebouw. Manifestations present works by the best graduates of the art academies. They investigate the (mis)match between people and technology in a funny, spectacular or controversial way and ask how technology can contribute to a more humane world. At Isola Talents Factory in the Schellensfabriek, a selection of recently graduated talents and students present their work. Finally, DDW presents Class of 21, a group exhibition with the works of students from different universities.

Kiki & Joost

At Kiki & Joost, you can go for a personal show that reveals what they've been feeling over the past two years; the creativity and pure energy of the process of creation. A cheerful and energetic exhibition of autonomous work alongside new collections for Maison Dada and MOOOI, an installation for the Queen of Hearts Foundation, and works by Cor Unum.

Animal costumes and gluten as material

In Natlab, Baltan Laboratories x Mediamatic hold an open costume lab inviting fashion designers, artists, and visitors to create costumes from notable species. There is also an ongoing programme of masterclasses, workshops, lectures, exhibitions, and parades on biodiversity and design. And are you looking for an exhibition off the beaten track? Then you can go to BioArt Laboratories, where settled dust acts as a drawing device with which visitors can leave their marks. And where we look at gluten as a material and paint with clay.

Talks

Together with our partners, we are once again organizing an extensive DDW Talk programme. We take a closer look at different facets of design within eight themes. Together with some key figures from the design field – and beyond – we at Fifth NRE explore all kinds of design disciplines daily, discuss current events, reflect on the past and, of course, also look ahead to what the future of design will bring us.

Greater Number Sessions

Want to dive even deeper into this year's DDW theme and its four sub-themes? In the Greater Number Sessions, we invite speakers to delve deeper into our sub-themes daily.

Design United

The four technical universities, or Design United, invite visitors this year to discuss the role of design in tackling five significant themes in the Up Close & Personal talk show. This show is streamed live daily from the Effenaar. Also, visit their exhibition in the Klokgebouw. Themes include Entangled Ecologies and Evolving Methodologies.

DDW TV

Last but not least, we stream a colourful hour of DDW TV for those at home every day. Every day at 19:00 sharp, you can join us digitally for an update of everything you missed at DDW, including the presentation of the DDA Awards.

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