ONE DESIGN WEEK

The eighth edition of the international festival of contemporary design and visual culture ONE DESIGN WEEK, which takes place in Plovdiv between June 10th and 19th will present the diverse realms of contemporary design within 24 exhibitions; an international professional forum with lectures by world-famous names in design; 18 workshops for children and adults; an open program; special design tours; 3 design contests; 8 installations in various urban spaces; 12 presentations and 2 seminars, as well as special events - Local Design Food (bazaar), Self-Service (sharing with food), Everyday Objects (temporary shop with unique works by Bulgarian contemporary designers), Day of Games in Hakafe, design quiz "Pub (lic) Quiz” and many others.

 

The festival is organized by "One Foundation for Culture and Arts" in partnership with the Municipality of Plovdiv and "America for Bulgaria Foundation", and a general partnership with Programista; with the support of Plovdiv - European Capital of Culture 2019. The festival has been recognized by the jury of EFFE - "Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe" with an award for 2015/2016.  The main partners are mobile operator Vivacom; Lidl, who will present more than just the usual storyline; Milka, who will introduce their new product - Collage; and Patishta Plovdiv, as well as design partner to the event this year, IKEA participating with an exhibition and a workshop.

 

The multidisciplinary approach of the eighth edition of ONE DESIGN WEEK produces and develops the potential of the festival as a platform on which there are a wide range of opinions, stories and audiences in search of a common ground. 195 participants from 22 countries and 132 Bulgarian artists will present their work during the design week, as well as being involved in the local context, working on topics that address its needs.

 

The project MATERIALITY BRUTALITY, funded by the Nordic Culture Fund, four designers from the Nordic countries - Thórunn Árnadóttir (Iceland), Kirsi Enkovaara (Finland), Kaja Solgaard (Norway), Kristoffer Sundin (Sweden) will experiment in unconventional ways of putting to use the material well known to all of us – cement.

 

The project MIXED IDENTITIES, which takes place courtesy of the International Vesegrad Fund, started with a 4-day workshop in April, when the invited designers visited the town of Plovdiv and familiarized themselves with both each other and the location with which they implemented their joint artistic collaboration / activities.  Presented by Lenka Srsnova (Slovakia), Bence Pasztor and David Tarcali from Studio Nomad (Hungary), Martyna Golik (Poland), Pavla Nesverova (Czech Republic) and Klara Sumova (Czech Republic).

 

Another highlight is "Additions. New Bulgarian design in a window shop "- the project presents examples of Bulgarian design created in the last year and selected by Studio Komplekt. Notably, the 15 works will be exhibited in shop windows along the main street of the city. The context of the commercial setting serve as a backdrop for the curated objects - posters, furniture, clothes, animations, infographics, toys and jewelry, accessories and others. The choice of the location is dictated by the popularity of the main street through which Plovdiv citizens and guests of the city pass daily. The aim is to surprise passers-by with the interventions in the windows of familiar shops and to get them acquainted with the work of Bulgarian designers.

 

One of the other highlights of the festival is the professional design forum that will be held on 18th of June (Saturday) at the House of Culture "Boris Hristov" (Plovdiv, ul. Gladston 15). Traditionally, the forum of ONE DESIGN WEEK gathers prominent names from around the world, well known in the field of design and visual arts. This year is no exception - among the speakers at the forum are: Alice Rawsthorn (England) - one of the most respected design critics in the world, Eisuke Tachikawa (Japan) - represents a new generation of modern Japanese designers, known for his specific approach and focus on social innovation, coming to Bulgaria with the support of EU JAPAN FEST and Foundation Plovdiv 2019, Pieter-Jan Pieters (Netherlands) - founder of the studio OWOW (with the support of Creative Industries NL), Peter Marigold (UK) - the creator of FORMcard, Adam von Haffner (Denmark) – manager of strategic communications at the Danish NGO INDEX: design to Improve Life® and Stephen Serrano (USA) - professor of graphic and communication design at Otis College of Art and design, Los Angeles, who comes with the support of the Embassy US in Bulgaria.

 

About the festival:

 

ONE DESIGN WEEK is an international festival of contemporary design and visual culture, organized with the support of the Municipality of Plovdiv, America for Bulgaria Foundation and with support of Plovdiv - European Capital of Culture 2019. The festival program includes a professional forum with distinguished names from around the world, a series of events that are free access to the general public - exhibitions, workshops, discussions, presentations, lectures, children's program, movies, books, parties.

 

The theme of the eighth edition of the festival is "- Can I help you?" and through it ONE DESIGN WEEK 2016 will push the boundaries within contemporary design and help the audience to see design all around them. Design is not something elitist, but "a tool that gives shape to every aspect of our lives." Simultaneously, the festival will focus on the process of the creation of design in every sense of the word - from information to the final product.