Dutch Design Week 2019, If not now, then when?

It all began back in 1998 with the very first event in Eindhoven, called the Day of Design. It attracted so much interest each year and grew exponentially so the Day of Design became the Week of Design in 2002 and ultimately in 2005 it was renamed Dutch Design Week (DDW). DDW organizes and facilitates exhibitions, lectures, awards ceremonies, networking events, debates and festivities and more during this 9-day event.
And although every imaginable discipline and aspect of design is on offer, the emphasis is on experimentation, innovation and cross-overs. Each year there is a special emphasis on the work and development of young talent. DDW focuses, therefore, on the design of the future and the future of design. Its goal is to show how designers from around the world can shape a positive future and play a major role in addressing the many challenges our society faces right now, including the climate emergency and social aspects.
Aware of the fact that designing the future is an international goal and that the design world must accept its responsibilities, the scope of many DDW initiatives goes far beyond the Netherlands and Dutch designers.
One great example of this collaborative, international approach is the “What If Lab: The Sustainable Society”, a programme initiated by Dutch Design Foundation (DDF). DDF is an organisation that focuses on strengthening the position, development, and importance of design. In October 2018, this lab challenged ten Dutch and Indonesian designers with the question: What if we could design our sustainable society together? Five teams formed of Indonesian designers and Dutch designers entered into a unique collaboration, studying a number of key design questions that define Indonesia today:  Together they developed new solutions for some of the complex challenges in the fields of sustainable education, clean air, bio-based materials and resilient neighbourhoods.  After an earlier exhibition in Jakarta, the results of this journey: concepts and prototypes developed by the design teams to make an active contribution to a sustainable future are again showcased here. This exhibition is being held simultaneously at the DDW in Klokgebouw, a former Philips factory centrally located in the creative area of the city of Eindhoven and in Indonesia, as part of the Bandung Design Biennale.
Another highlight is indubitably the exhibition showcasing the work of all the 2019 winners and nominees of the Dutch Design Awards (DDA) or the “Embassy of Health” that explores new, person-centred and design-driven ways of tackling challenges in the increasingly complex area of healthcare with a more comprehensive approach based on new forms of crossover collaboration.
The packed programme, which also includes a series of meetings and debates with renowned designers and architects, including Italian architect Stefano Boeri, a DDW19 ambassador, obviously includes fringe events such as “DDW at night”, which offers concerts, experience dinners and parties every day after 6 pm. Because design is much more than just exhibitions and products, it is also all about joyful interaction and sharing.

Christiane Bürklein

Dutch Design Week DDW 2019
19 - 27 October 2019
Eindhoven, NL
Find out more: https://www.ddw.nl/en/home
Images: see captions

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