This year’s Dutch Design Week (DDW) will be about ‘a new balance in a time in which we’ve started to relate differently to each other’.
This is partly due to COVID 19. ‘Major societal challenges have been further accentuated in a short period by COVID 19 pandemic,’ reads a DDW press release. ‘We have long been aware of these.’ They include climate change, inequality, and poverty.
The theme – The New Intimacy – also illustrates the festival’s unique 19th year. DDW20 will, after all, take place both in an intimate physical form and extensively online. Applications are now open for designers who want to participate in this well-known international event.
The New Intimacy
“The search for a new balance has begun,” states the press release. “A balance in which important values such as intimacy and affection must not be lost. It is a challenge that demands the knowledge, imagination, and inventiveness of designers.”
All approved participants will become part of the online programme. The designers will have their own digital space at their disposal. There, can set up a virtual 3D exhibition.
The Dutch Design Foundation organises DDW. Last month, they announced that, after extensive consultation with all the relevant stakeholders, the festival would continue. This would be as a physical and online festival.
More ‘live’ content
The Dutch Health Department recently relaxed some anti-corona measures further. This has made it possible to expand the ‘live’ part of the festival. The organisers hope to welcome more professional visitors.
Pre-planned visits to studio expos and ‘design areas’ are on the cards. That means there’s a limited number of physical locations available for designers. Designers must submit their applications by Monday, 31 August, at the latest.
DDW will also have an extensive online programme. It’ll not only feature virtual exhibitions of designers from across the world. There will be live streams, video content, DDW talks, virtual parties, and more too.
Source: Dutch Design Week
Translator: Melinda Walraven
