Norwegian Presence 2021: Landmark new digital event series set to celebrate Norway’s circular-design economy
Beginning on 18 February, a series of three half-day online events will bring together the best Norwegian designers and manufacturers to explore the ideas, values and aesthetic trends shaping design culture in Norway and beyond. Although each of the events will centre on a distinct theme, the overarching focus will be on the drive towards a circular-design economy, and the environmental and social sustainability inherent in Nordic design infrastructure.
Each of the three half-day events will comprise a programme of round tables, panel discussions and exclusive film content featuring the designers and manufacturers of Norwegian Presence. The online home for the series will be norwegianpresence.no/2021, and talk recordings and films from each of the three days will be available to view after each event, steadily transforming the site into an archive of design resources and insights into Norway’s close-knit creative culture of craft, design and manufacture.
Each event will explore a key contemporary design topic:
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Circular design vs mass production
18 February 2021
Norway’s leading brands are already ahead of the curve when it comes to closed-loop production methods, sustainable material resourcing and socially beneficial business models. This event brings individual designers together with major industrial producers to explore how the principles of sustainability and a culturally inherent appreciation of landscape and the environment characterise Norwegian making from micro to macro scales.
Participants include furniture designer and carpenter Philipp von Hase; Ali Gallefoss, who is exploring the material fusion of Hydro’s aluminium and natural stone from Lundhs; Hamran, creator of the new craft-driven kitchen concept, Made by Wood; Vilde Hagelund, with degrees in both multimedia technology and product design she’s named one of the world’s most promising young design talents by Wallpaper*; Nils Stensrud holds a degree in architecture and now runs his own design practice focussing on small-scale architecture and furniture production; and Volver, a Norwegian design studio that creates rugs for private and public spaces with a focus on artistic expression and collaboration.
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From maker to museum
25 March 2021
One of the defining characteristics of Nordic design culture is a deep appreciation of craftsmanship and a concomitant respect for honest materiality. This sensibility doesn’t stop at the factory door; craft is ingrained in the approaches of Norwegian manufacturers operating at even the largest scales. Looking through the lens of a growing appreciation of bespoke design and small-batch production, this event will explore the path from designers and craftspeople to museums and collectors, and consider the role that manufacturers play in the journey between the two.
Participants include furniture designer and carpenter Philipp von Hase; Ali Gallefoss, who is exploring the material fusion of Hydro’s aluminium and natural stone from Lundhs; Hamran, creator of the new craft-driven kitchen concept, Made by Wood; Vilde Hagelund, with degrees in both multimedia technology and product design she’s named one of the world’s most promising young design talents by Wallpaper*; and Volver, a Norwegian design studio that creates rugs for private and public spaces with a focus on artistic expression and collaboration.
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A new paradigm in interior design?
22 April 2021
The Covid-induced blurring of the boundaries between homes and workspaces has coincided with an aesthetic shift. The distinction between private and public spaces are breaking down, and a new ‘resi-mercial’ style is emerging – characterised by warmth, texture, personality and intimacy. This event explores how new products and prototypes in Norwegian industrial design are reflecting these new interior trends, and how the designers and makers of Norwegian Presence are responding to the shift.
Participants include Håvard Dybwad and Øyvind Wyller, designers of the flatpack ‘Stick’ coffee table in stone, wood and aluminium; Fjordfiesta, producer of timeless Nordic furniture; Kiki Plesner, founder of Plesner Patterns, a Norwegian pattern design studio focusing on textiles and wallpapers; Tobias Berg, designer of the Kvitre armchair which could be easily repaired or replaced in response to wear, tear or simply the user’s changing style and taste; and Gudrun, a small, family-orientated company, producing pillows and cushions with sustainable, high-quality wool.
The designers and makers taking part in 2021 were originally selected for inclusion for Norwegian Presence’s cancelled Milan showcase in 2020. In keeping with the deep-rooted focus on sustainability, the curatorial team of Benedicte Sunde of DOGA and Marit Haugen of Oslo architects Haugen/Zohar looked for designers who demonstrated innovative approaches to naturally low-carbon materials, such as wood, aluminium, stone and paper.
By bringing the two groups together in this way, the Norwegian Presence events will demonstrate the importance of the relationship between designer and manufacturer, and its role in shaping and sustaining Norway’s creative ecosystem.
Designers
Håvard Dybwad
Ali Gallefoss
Vilde Hagelund
Philipp von Hase
Tobias Berg Johannessen
Poppy Lawman
Kiki Plesner-Löfroth
Sofie&Tiange
Nils Stensrud
Øyvind Wylle
Manufacturers
Hydro
Lundhs
Hamran – Made by Wood
NCP
Fjordfiesta
Gudrun
Volver Studio
“As we are losing an important aspect of being at a physical fair, we have to find new ways of creating that connection. Any purchase you make is based on an emotion. If we cannot touch and feel the quality to create that emotional connection, what will it take to develop it in different ways? We believe a big bonus of going digital is that we can get a sense of the people behind the object we are presenting. We can offer more in-depth conversations, highlighting reflections on the participants' designs and why they stand out as a high-quality product worth investing in. Why do they design? What's important to them? What does working sustainably mean to them?” – Tor Inge Hjemdal, CEO, DOGA.
All event content – talks, films, and product galleries – will remain available to explore on norwegianpresence.no/2021 after each event, allowing visitors to catch-up on missed talks, rewatch films, and browse exhibitors’ work at their leisure.
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