At their best, exhibitions can undermine established thought patterns and help see the world from a whole new perspective. This year’s Design Club Open Call is built around a new understanding of the theme. The application is open from August 16 to September 30, 2021, and the exhibition selected through this process will be held in the gallery space of the Design Museum in the fall of 2022.
“We ask applicants to apply a broad interpretation of the theme of the search, the knowledge. The importance of knowledge and information in the field of design, the work of designers, and the social context are topics that we would like applicants to explore. What does the information mean for the designer or the design industry? Can the designer use the data as material? How can a designer produce new information in his profession or in connection with exhibitions? “, Suvi Saloniemi, Chief Curator of the Design Museum, notes.
The idea of the exhibition can be expanded to comment on a wide range of social themes from polyphony to issues of equity in information production. Is it possible to produce information collectively and who can participate in such a process? And how can designers reinterpret, for example, historical information or the culture of objects? Can we look at old materials or techniques in a new light if we get a new perspective?
The works participating in the exhibition ideas can utilize, for example, the processes of object design, social design, infography, user interface design, arts and crafts or critical design.
The decision is made by a jury consisting of the producer and sponsor of the Design Museum’s exhibition and the director of the Finnish Museum of Architecture’s exhibitions, services and concepts.
Design Club Open Call 2021 – Search instructions
- Application period: 16 August 2021 to 30 September 202. Applications must be submitted no later than 23 September at 11.59 pm (11.59 pm) (EET) in pdf format to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. The exhibition will be selected by the Design Club and the Design Museum in October 2021 and the winner will be notified in person.
- A performance, which may be an exhibition proposal or an installation, may consist of one or more works.
- The exhibition concept selected through the application process will receive 10,000 euros in production funding. The winning proposal will also be offered use of the Gallery space of the Helsinki Design Museum, assistance in compiling the exhibition and its basic expenses. Exhibition schedule: September 9, 2022 – January 15, 2023
- Applicants must submit their proposal on the basis of an open call, information. The proposal must be related in some way to the field of design: the use of expressions, working methods, tools or discussion. Each applicant can independently determine how to interpret and deal with the theme of the search cycle. The application may include suggestions for potential exhibition partners.
- The exhibition proposal is open to Finnish and international designers, working groups, companies, curators and researchers.
Source: Helsinki Design Museum
Source: The Nordic Page