Vienna Design Week, 28th September – 7th October

VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, Austria ́s largest design festival, takes place for the 6th time from September 28 to October 7, 2012. National and international works of product-, furniture-, graphic-, and industrial design, such as experimental approaches will be presented within the festival, curated by Tulga Beyerle and Lilli Hollein. Revealing the creative process of the production and to initiate projects are core elements of the festival’s concept.

In cooperation with designers from all over the world, Viennese museums and companies, the festival shows different approaches to design. International but local, sets out to be this year ́s motto. This year VIENNA DESIGN WEEK offers over a hundred events, exhibitions, on site installations, talks and discussions, and plenty of opportunities to celebrate and to network. The festival shows that design shapes our material culture, our every-day life and our world as consumers. Simultaneously, it influences our lifestyles and most fundamentally our aesthetic senses and judgements.

In the past six years VIENNA DESIGN WEEK became much more than just a festival: It is a design network that assembles the most important heads of culture, economy, media, politics and the creative scene. Guest appearances of invited countries – this year it is Spain – also play an important part on the internationalization of the festival, such as invitations to events abroad (VIENNA DESIGN WEEK Embassy is present at DMY Berlin, designblok Prague, Mikser Festival Belgrade or Sofia Design Week in 2012).

This year ́s guest country is Spain, known for its strong and humorous design impulses. A teaspoon full of Spain will refine all formats of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK and two exhibitions will be dedicated to Spanish designers. This year ́s focus district is Ottakringer Straße, the boulevard between the 16th and the 17th district. A former etablissement from the 19th century called “Das Gschwandner” will be a hot spot with a variety of events taking place. Projects in the field of Social Design can be seen on site and in public spaces.

Passionswege
The PASSIONSWEGE are a design trail through Vienna and an important format of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK. Solo designers and design teams from Austria and abroad are invited to create objects and site-specific installations on the premises of old established Viennese businesses. The Passionswege also lead to parts of the city not especially known for their affinity for design.

Talks
Talks invite some of the most challenging designers of our times to give lectures on their specific approaches and experiences in design. A comparison between the creative scenes of Berlin and Vienna will be an issue. A second emphasis will focus on experiences of enterprises cooperating with designers.

Laboratory
VIENNA DESIGN WEEK Laboratory invites emerging graphic and product designers to develop and present a project on-site at the festival center, the kunstalle project space. In addition, talks and panels address a professional audience.

Stadtarbeit
Stadtarbeit acknowledges five ambitious projects which show the strength and vitality of design apart from its commercial applications. Social design is a focus in this format.

Education
VIENNA DESIGN WEEK Education offers tours for all! Workshops for kids and young people are offered as well, as guided tours for adults – for design beginners to specialists.

Program partners
Designers, institutions, museums, galleries as well as manufacturers and stores, complement the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK with a wide range of events and exhibitions on design.

For the full information, program and extras, visit the official VIENNA DESIGN WEEK website