7th March 2023
March news: how to kickstart a creative career (and why dancing is good for the soul)
AHEC’s wooden wonders wow in Madrid, the Supporting Act prepares for fresh funding round, and Citizens Design Bureau gets theatrical…
Founded and funded by WeTransfer, the Supporting Act Foundation promotes representation in the creative sector, awarding grants to individuals and enterprises across Europe.
The Supporting Act Foundation
Funding marginalised creatives across Europe
Funding marginalised creatives across Europe
A lot of companies talk about giving marginalised people a platform. Perhaps they run a marketing campaign, or make a one-off donation to a charity. The Supporting Act is different.
Established in 2021, with WeTransfer providing a solid €1million to get the foundation rolling, alongside 1% of its annual revenue thereafter, the Supporting Act funds a diverse range of creative enterprises across Europe through its grant programme. The money and visibility provides opportunities to those typically overlooked by the industry at large, while making a meaningful investment in the creative ecosystem.
The programme is making a confident return in 2023, with a fresh open call to be announced shortly. We share their commitment to social and environmental responsibility, and can’t wait to see the new cohort.
Read more about the Supporting Act Foundation.
Established in 2021, with WeTransfer providing a solid €1million to get the foundation rolling, alongside 1% of its annual revenue thereafter, the Supporting Act funds a diverse range of creative enterprises across Europe through its grant programme. The money and visibility provides opportunities to those typically overlooked by the industry at large, while making a meaningful investment in the creative ecosystem.
The programme is making a confident return in 2023, with a fresh open call to be announced shortly. We share their commitment to social and environmental responsibility, and can’t wait to see the new cohort.
Read more about the Supporting Act Foundation.
Alvaro Catalán de Ocón AHEC commission as part of Natural Connections. Exhibited at Matadero Madrid, Spain.
AHEC
Mesmerising material innovation in Madrid
Mesmerising material innovation in Madrid
Two beautiful exhibitions from AHEC opened in Madrid in February, presenting a series of creative commissions that champion slow design and explore our relationship with nature.
SLOW Spain brought together the work of 17 students from nine Spanish design schools. Natural Connections showcased nature-inspired work by three leading Spanish designers (and SLOW Spain mentors): Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter of Studio Inma Bermúdez; Jorge Penadés of Oficina Penadés; and Alvaro Catalán de Ocón of ACdO.
Demonstrating the creative possibilities of three American hardwoods – cherry, red oak and maple – each piece is a creative statement that pushes materiality and craft in a fresh contemporary direction. We were lucky enough to see the shows while in Madrid last week, and were blown away by both.
Find out more about both exhibitions.
SLOW Spain brought together the work of 17 students from nine Spanish design schools. Natural Connections showcased nature-inspired work by three leading Spanish designers (and SLOW Spain mentors): Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter of Studio Inma Bermúdez; Jorge Penadés of Oficina Penadés; and Alvaro Catalán de Ocón of ACdO.
Demonstrating the creative possibilities of three American hardwoods – cherry, red oak and maple – each piece is a creative statement that pushes materiality and craft in a fresh contemporary direction. We were lucky enough to see the shows while in Madrid last week, and were blown away by both.
Find out more about both exhibitions.
From left: Bello! bench by Beller + Hydro. One stool by Martin HøghOlsen. XO self-watering flowerpot by Ann Kristin Einarsen. Kollen lounge chair by Tobias Berg. Photography by Magnus Nordstrand. Styling by Kråkvik/D'Orazio/van den Berg.
Norwegian Presence
Materiality on the mind in Milan
Materiality on the mind in Milan
Norwegian Presence is back! Regularly lauded as a highlight of Milan Design Week, Norway’s annual showcase of material innovation and creativity is returning to the premiere international design fair for the ninth time.
Taking place on 18–23 April 2023, the exhibition will feature new talents alongside established names in a new venue on Via Pietro Maroncelli, steps from the Fondazione Feltrinelli cultural hub. Expect sustainability, circularity and low-waste production, served up with lashings of craft and collaboration – including pasta-inspired aluminium seating by Lars Beller Fjetland and Hydro.
Norway makes for Milan.
Taking place on 18–23 April 2023, the exhibition will feature new talents alongside established names in a new venue on Via Pietro Maroncelli, steps from the Fondazione Feltrinelli cultural hub. Expect sustainability, circularity and low-waste production, served up with lashings of craft and collaboration – including pasta-inspired aluminium seating by Lars Beller Fjetland and Hydro.
Norway makes for Milan.
Portrait of Andu Masebo as part of Atelier100 by Ayesha Kazim.
Andu Masebo
A maker on the rise
A maker on the rise
How to describe someone like Andu? You could turn to the ones-to-watch list from the likes of Wallpaper* and the Financial Times. You could check out the now-iconic tubular chair for Atelier100. You could read what we wrote about him in our ‘23 for ‘23’ round-up of creative talent. Or you could just give him a follow on Instagram.
It’s rare that you find someone equally talented across ceramics, metal fabrication and carpentry, and who uses those skills to tell richly inventive stories about people and places. That’s why we’re delighted to welcome him as a client.
It’s rare that you find someone equally talented across ceramics, metal fabrication and carpentry, and who uses those skills to tell richly inventive stories about people and places. That’s why we’re delighted to welcome him as a client.
Design Can
Join the V&A, Design Museum and Nesta on the Jobs Board!
Design Can’s Jobs Board is going from strength to strength. When it was announced that companies would have the opportunity to share their vacancies with Design Can’s talented community, people were excited. Amazing recent roles advertised were from the likes of V&A, Design Museum, Nesta… and, of course, us!
Check it out, tell a friend, and why not throw your hat in the ring?
Check it out, tell a friend, and why not throw your hat in the ring?
Jacksons Lane retrofit by Citizens Design Bureau. Photo by Fred Howarth.
Citizens Design Bureau
Retrofit with a twist, Jacksons Lane
Retrofit with a twist, Jacksons Lane
Retrofitting is important. More of a building’s carbon footprint comes from construction rather than lighting or heating, and the preservation of historic architecture keeps something of the past alive. Citizens Design Bureau’s project at Jacksons Lane reminds us of another quality: optimising a space for a new purpose, while retaining the character and soul of its previous lives.
A Grade-II-listed former church, Jacksons Lane has been an arts and circus space and important community hub since the 1980s. Supported by a substantial £4.6million Capital Grant from the Arts Council, Katy Marks’ sensitive and soulful renovation has helped secure its future for decades to come. The transformation radically improves accessibility, brings in contemporary warmth, and elevates the space for all users: audiences, performers and centre staff alike.
Download the full story here. Want high-res images? Let us know!
A Grade-II-listed former church, Jacksons Lane has been an arts and circus space and important community hub since the 1980s. Supported by a substantial £4.6million Capital Grant from the Arts Council, Katy Marks’ sensitive and soulful renovation has helped secure its future for decades to come. The transformation radically improves accessibility, brings in contemporary warmth, and elevates the space for all users: audiences, performers and centre staff alike.
Download the full story here. Want high-res images? Let us know!
Lisa chairs by Adam Nathaniel Furman for Beit Collective.
Adam Nathaniel Furman
Take a seat (or two)
Take a seat (or two)
Adam Nathaniel Furman’s colourful creations can be discovered all over the world. One long-running collaborative partner is Beit Collective – a Lebanese design brand with a strong social purpose.
Founded in the wake of the 2020 explosion in Lebanon, Emilie Skaff was determined to support the local Lebanese artisans rebuild and continue their time-honoured craft traditions. Working with international designers such as Adam Nathaniel Furman has been vital to raise awareness, connect with new audiences and push traditional craft skills into a fresh contemporary direction.
Recent launches include two stackable chairs, Lisa and Nour, which use traditional craft skills to celebrate the charming materiality of each piece, including local maple wood and a biodegradable biopolymer.
See for yourself.
Founded in the wake of the 2020 explosion in Lebanon, Emilie Skaff was determined to support the local Lebanese artisans rebuild and continue their time-honoured craft traditions. Working with international designers such as Adam Nathaniel Furman has been vital to raise awareness, connect with new audiences and push traditional craft skills into a fresh contemporary direction.
Recent launches include two stackable chairs, Lisa and Nour, which use traditional craft skills to celebrate the charming materiality of each piece, including local maple wood and a biodegradable biopolymer.
See for yourself.
Render of Fandangoe Discoteca kiosk. Image courtesy of the Fandangoe Kid.
Fandangoe Kid
Dance like there’s a fantastic tomorrow
Dance like there’s a fantastic tomorrow
Multidisciplinary artist Annie Nicholson, aka The Fandangoe Kid, is getting ready to launch her latest project: Fandangoe Discoteca. Moved by a desire to help people deal with grief and angst caused by Covid-19, Brexit and the climate crisis, Nicholson will tour the UK in 2023 with a mini disco kiosk, creating positive public moments through dance.
Nicholson is collaborating with The Loss Project, K67 Berlin and Street Soundsystem “to take people to the very last dancefloor of their European dreams.” The kiosk is a restored version of the K67 kiosk, a modernist design gem associated with ad hoc post-Soviet spaces – chip stalls, newspaper stands, student cafes, shelters – which evokes a legacy of European unity and collaboration.
Chip in to the Kickstarter to make this happen.
Nicholson is collaborating with The Loss Project, K67 Berlin and Street Soundsystem “to take people to the very last dancefloor of their European dreams.” The kiosk is a restored version of the K67 kiosk, a modernist design gem associated with ad hoc post-Soviet spaces – chip stalls, newspaper stands, student cafes, shelters – which evokes a legacy of European unity and collaboration.
Chip in to the Kickstarter to make this happen.
Detail of Bisila Noha’s ceramic pieces.
Bisila Noha
Shows and speaking events this spring
Shows and speaking events this spring
Two big events for artist and activist Bisila Noha. First up (right now) at Collect in London, 3–5 March 2023, Thrown Contemporary are presenting her ceramic pieces in ‘Grounded’, a curated collection exploring heritage, material and landscape, at Somerset House. If you’re headed to the fair this year, we’d recommend checking out her Collect talk on Saturday 4 March (tomorrow) at 1pm.
Also in London, from 7 March to 6 April 2023, Bisila will be one of 12 contemporary artists exhibited in Within+Without at Unit Gallery. The show brings together artists working within the historically gendered mediums of textiles and ceramics, and exploring powerful representations of our inner and outer worlds.
Visit Bisila's website for full details of all shows and happenings.
Also in London, from 7 March to 6 April 2023, Bisila will be one of 12 contemporary artists exhibited in Within+Without at Unit Gallery. The show brings together artists working within the historically gendered mediums of textiles and ceramics, and exploring powerful representations of our inner and outer worlds.
Visit Bisila's website for full details of all shows and happenings.
Pyrographic Vessel by Darren Appiagyei, images by Nocera&Ferri.
Darren Appiagyei
Artist, now represented by The New Craftsmen, showing at Collect 23
Artist, now represented by The New Craftsmen, showing at Collect 23
The exceptional wood artist Darren Appiagyei is also exhibiting at Collect, this time as part of the relaunch of much-loved craft brand The New Craftsmen. As part of the ‘Grown in Britain’ presentation, a thematic celebration of British craftsmanship, Appiagyei’s work is featuring alongside a number of others who share a love of materiality and landscape.
Want to know more? Listen to this amazing conversation between Grant Gibson and Darren on the Material Matters podcast. It’s a really special one.
More details about the exhibition.
Want to know more? Listen to this amazing conversation between Grant Gibson and Darren on the Material Matters podcast. It’s a really special one.
More details about the exhibition.
Pamphlet from MYOM.
Make Your Own Masters
Education needn’t be exclusionary
Education needn’t be exclusionary
There are a lot of obstacles put in the way of people trying to break into the creative industries. If you’re not from a privileged background, affording the extraordinary cost of third-level education can be too much to overcome. Facing the same struggle, graphic design graduate Stacie Woolsey knew there had to be an alternative.
Make Your Own Masters is her answer. The independent programme is an agile and inclusive system that offers workshops, mentorship and design briefs – the building blocks of a viable creative career. Having successfully supported students since 2021, Stacie is ramping up ambitions for 2023.
School up with MYOM.
Make Your Own Masters is her answer. The independent programme is an agile and inclusive system that offers workshops, mentorship and design briefs – the building blocks of a viable creative career. Having successfully supported students since 2021, Stacie is ramping up ambitions for 2023.
School up with MYOM.
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London
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