GLOBAL DESIGN FORUM
Last month was an incredible whirlwind of design events across Oslo, Copenhagen and London. A highlight for me was being invited by London Design Festival to speak at the V&A Museum as part of the Global Design Forum. The talk focused on design hybrids and transdisciplinary approaches to design.
Design no longer works in silo within fixed disciplines. We discussed collaboration across disciplines and the power of a fluid, non-linear career path. It was great to meet and listen to all my brilliant fellow artists/designers: Tine Bech, Post Carbon Lab and Carl Robertshaw Design. Thanks to Katie Popperwell for moderating the panel, Margaret Cubbage for curating and to London Design Festival for inviting me to take part.
Katie Popperwell: Senior International Producer at Festival UK* 2022: Katie Popperwell is a multi-disciplinary creative producer and cultural critic. She is currently Senior International Producer at Festival UK* 2022. Her 20-year career in the arts has included creating programmes of work for Manchester International Festival, 14 – 18 NOW and MIMA School of Art & Design, with artists including David Lynch and Phil Collins. As a journalist and broadcaster, she has presented BBC 6Music news and Radio 4's flagship arts programme Front Row. She is a trustee of Manchester Unesco City of Literature.
Tine Bech: Creative Director Tine Bech Studio: Tine Bech Studio is an art and design studio that creates beautiful and meaningful experiences with innovative materials and cutting-edge technologies. Dr Tine Bech is a multidisciplinary artist with a PhD in Play Theory and Interactive Art. She creates eloquent and playful interactive installations, light art, sculptures and games in the public realm and for galleries and museums. She was born in Aarhus, Denmark, and now lives in London and works internationally. Her work has been exhibited in public spaces, galleries, and at major festivals, transforming urban landmarks in cities around the world. previous projects include: European Capital of Culture; London Cultural Olympiad; The Playable City; Team London Bridge; British Land; More London; Canary Wharf group; Shakespeare’s New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon; The Royal Danish Embassy in London; British Council; Victoria and Albert Museum, The Science Museum in London, The Whitworth Gallery in Manchester, Israel Museum, Aarhus Centre for Contemporary Art, China Science & Technology Museum, SIGGRAPH Art Gallery LA USA, the Royal British Sculptors' Gallery and many more.
Hannes Hulstaert: Co-founder Post Carbon Lab: Post Carbon Lab, founded by Dian-Jen Lin and Hannes Hulstaert, is an open-innovation, collaboration-oriented social enterprise offering microbial colouration/finishes R&D services to textile-based SMEs.With a nucleus of regenerative sustainability & dignity, they aim to foster cross-disciplinary collaborations while lowering the threshold of accessing innovations for small businesses & underprivileged designer communities. With transdisciplinary design & research backgrounds, they start with theoretical prompts and investigate them with empirical data collection to scrutinise existing systems & manufacturing processes, especially the often neglected ecological and social responsibilities within. By working with microorganisms in our surroundings, they offer service pilots of sustainable microbiological textile treatments — Microbial Colouration & Photosynthetic Coating — as proactive and regenerative pathways to climate-positive fashion.
Carl Robertshaw: Multi-disciplinary designer and artist: Carl Robertshaw is a unique multidisciplinary designer and artist, working with an inclusive approach at the intersection of performance, engineering and fine art. Over the past 25 years Carl has enjoyed collaborating with artists such as Bjork, Kylie Minogue, Hussein Chalayan, Take That, Peter Gabriel, Anohni, Coldplay, Editors and Ellie Goulding. Carl’s work has been celebrated on world stages such as The Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show, New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Manchester International Festival and the 2012 London Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. Carl is a Graduate of Central St Martins School of Art and Design with a Degree in Graphic Design. He is also 5-times World Sport Kite Champion. Carl’s passion for kites and for science, art and nature feed directly into his work. He has made installations for The Hayward Gallery, ArtEvento Italy and The London Design Biennale that explore fluid dynamics and wave patterns in light and air.
