11 SEPTEMBER 2009 2:30-8 PM
Seminar 2: at ExperimentaDesign '09 Lisbon

Participants: Ana Betancour (SE), Otto von Busch (SE), Tor Lindstrand (SE), Helena Mattsson (SE)
Panel guests: Emily Campbell (UK), Joseph Grima (US)
Moderators: Ramia Maze, Magnus Ericson
Venue: EXD'09 Lounging Space, Palacio Braamcamp, Patio do Tijolo 25, Lisbon, Portugal
Language: English

How can design materialize ideas that can lead to wider change? Can design reform - or contest - social and political conditions? Where does this take place - in the design studio or on the factory floor, in exhibition settings or on the streets? What are the emerging tactics, outcomes and audiences for such forms of practice?

The DESIGN ACT seminar explores critical roles for designers in society. In Sweden, architecture, fashion, and design have historically participated in constructing the ideals – and forms – of the welfare state. Today, practitioners continue to engage in social and societal issues, whether materializing a critique of the status quo, proposing alternatives to reform systems and spaces, or staging participatory design processes and public debates. While too often reduced to questions of form and function, such tendencies expose powerful and political forms of design practice.

Featuring a series of presentations from Swedish designers and a panel session with international guests, the DESIGN ACT seminar at ExperimentaDesign reflects on historical precedents and discusses examples of contemporary practice. Presentations by: Helena Mattsson, on Swedish welfare politics, critique and design; Ana Betancour, on architecture as catalyst for social change; Otto von Busch, on hactivism and participation in fashion design; Tor Lindstrand, on architecture and performance for staging new social interactions.

The panel discussion among the presenters, international guests Emily Campbell and Joseph Grima, and the audience will take up the seminar theme in relation to issues in other contexts, disciplines and parts of the world – and, together, reflect on future directions for design.


PROGRAM
2:30 -4:30 Part 1:
Introduction to DESIGN ACT
Presentations by Helena Mattsson and Tor Lindstrand
Break
5:00 - 6:45 Part 2:
Presentations by Ana Betancour and Otto von Busch
7:00 - 8:00 Part 3:
(short) Break
Panel discussion with Emily Campbell and Joseph Grima

 



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Video: The Seminar 1/15 PreviousNextIntro