Belgrade Design Week

Last updated
Belgrade Design Week
GenreLectures, Design labs, Competitions
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s) Belgrade, Serbia
Founder Jovan Jelovac
ParticipantsInternational artists, designers, and entrepreneurs
Website http://www.belgradedesignweek.com

Belgrade Design Week is a one-week design festival held once a year in Belgrade, Serbia. First held in 2005, the festival is organized every spring and is the largest design initiative[ citation needed ] in South-Eastern Europe. The festival covers architecture, design, fashion, publishing, and new media, as well as related fields like communications, marketing, advertising, and arts management. The event includes design labs, competitions, and presentations from international speakers like Karim Rashid and Daniel Libeskind.

Contents

During the rest of the year, there are related projects such as promoting local designers, holding a branding competition for the Serbian Center for the Promotion of Science, and participating in the Partners of the Human Cities/ Project. [1] [2] [3] The organization also spearheaded the Belgrade 2020 project, promoting the city as a candidate for the European Capital of Culture. [3]

History

First held in 2005, the Belgrade Design Week festival was founded by architect and brand consultant Jovan Jelovac. [4] [5] The conference costs about half a million euros to produce and is funded mostly through commercial and media sponsorships. [4] The reasons for creating the event were for education and inspiring the country's citizens through design. In 2014, the president of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolić, was the patron for the event, and mentioned how design can contribute to the country's economy. [6]

In 2006, designer Karim Rashid was the ambassador for the second Belgrade Design Week and spoke at the conference. [7] Subsequently, he headed several design projects in Serbia's capital city. [5] Rashid stated that he is fascinated by Belgrade and Eastern Europe in general, seeing it "as the next upcoming place - everyone is psyched and enthusiastic about the rebuilding of these poetic, romantic, artistic, and very intellectual places." [8] [9] [10]

After attending the design festival in 2008, architect Daniel Libeskind was awarded a billion dollar contract to redevelop the Belgrade waterfront. [11] [12]

Festival events

The principal site of the festival changes annually with various run-down or abandoned buildings being renovated for the event. Past locations have included a palace, the bombed-out hotel Jugoslavija, an abandoned department store, [13] the closed contemporary art museum, and an old factory. [14] Every year, the conference also focuses on a common thread, for example, in 2013 the theme was the square shape. [15]

Approximately thirty international speakers present each year and cover a wide range of subjects. Designers and artists who have spoken at the event include Konstantin Grcic, Aylin Langreuter, Christophe de la Fontaine, Hella Jongerius, Daan Roosegaarde, Ross Lovegrove, Christophe Pillet, Sacha Lakic, and Patricia Urquiola. [4]

The events at the festival include presentations, workshops, design competitions and exhibits from designers (such as Israeli Eilon Armon and Swiss architect duo Lang/Baumann). [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karim Rashid</span> American industrial designer

Karim Rashid is an Egyptian-born and Canadian raised industrial designer. His designs include luxury goods, furniture, lighting, surface design, brand identity and packaging. Time magazine has described him as the "most famous industrial designer in all the Americas" and the "Prince of Plastic". He is based in New York City, as well as Belgrade, Miami and India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hani Rashid</span> Egyptian-born architect

Hani Rashid is an architect and educator. He co-founded the New York-based architecture firm, Asymptote Architecture with Lise Anne Couture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biomega (bicycle company)</span>

Biomega is a Copenhagen-based, Danish brand of designer bicycles. It is known for engaging international designers from outside the bicycle industry; including Marc Newson, Ross Lovegrove, Karim Rashid and Bjarke Ingels, often giving its products unconventional solutions. In addition to producing bikes under its own name, Falcon produces bicycles under a joined brand with Puma AG.

Tokyo Design Week (TDW), formally known as Tokyo Designers Week, was an annual design event that occurred from 2005–2016, at Meiji Jingu Gaien in central Tokyo, Japan. The event featured product design, interior design and had expanded to include art and graphic design as well as short films. Since 2005, Tokyo Design Week had been held at Meiji Jingu Gaien, near Gaienmae Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.

Roksanda Ilinčić Bueno de Mesquita is a Serbian-born fashion designer based in London, England. She owns the fashion brand Roksanda, which she introduced in 2005 at London Fashion Week.

The Lawrence Israel Prize is awarded by the Interior Design Program of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York City. The prize was named for and endowed by the architect Lawrence J. Israel.

Sacha Lakic is a French automotive, furniture and product designer who has worked primarily in Paris and Luxembourg. Known for his "Onda" furniture line and Venturi electric cars, his work is described as embodying speed, future technologies, and an unadorned sculptural quality.

Jovan Jelovac brand consultant based in Belgrade, Zürich and London. He is known for being the founder and director of Belgrade Design Week, a festival held yearly in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the largest event of its kind in the Balkans, attracting international designers, artists and entrepreneurs such as Bjarke Ingels, Karim Rashid and Patricia Urquiola.

Boris Nikolić was a Serbian fashion designer who had become something of an icon since his death in 2008. In his ten-year career, he became a respected and award-winning designer in Serbia. He was known for combining contrasting elements and using striped motifs, as well as for employing unusual titles for his collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgrade Fashion Week</span> Biannual Serbian fashion show

Belgrade Fashion Week is a fashion show held in Belgrade, Serbia twice a year. It is the largest event of its kind in the country. Attracting international buyers and industry experts, the show has helped launch the careers of several Serbian fashion designers, such as George Styler, Ivana Pilja, Ana Ljubinkovic, and Boris Nikolic. British designer Roksanda Ilincic, who is originally from Serbia, has regularly presented her collections at the show since 2002. Italian Vogue has called the festival "... the most interesting platform in the Balkans for designers and international buyers".

Nevena Ivanović is a Serbian fashion designer behind the brand NEO Design. The label is known for being inspired by Japanese culture and hairstyles, as well as African and Balkan fashion. According to Italian Vogue, Ivanović "... knows how to use different fabrics and textures in an elaborate and fascinating way, including lace, neoprene, stretch materials, chiffon and leather, thus creating a modern, futuristic yet feminine and intriguing silhouette."

Aleksandar Protić is a Serbian-born fashion designer. His pieces are known for their casual and fluid forms, as well as their draping. He also designs costumes for dance and theater companies.

The Applied Artists and Designers Association of Serbia is an organization that supports Serbian professionals working in the fields of art and design. This includes architecture, textiles, scenography, costume design, sculpture, graphics, paintings, ceramics, art photography, restoration, and art history.

Ines Janković is a Serbian fashion designer based in Belgrade. She is known for her wedding dresses, sportswear separates, leather jackets and jewelry line. Her style has been described as classic but with a twist.

The Mikser Festival is an annual exhibition promoting design, architecture, urban planning, new technologies, art, music, and communications in Serbia. It was founded in 2006 by architect Maja Vidaković Lalić. It invites international and local experts from creative industries. It features lectures, competitions, workshops, exhibits, concerts, films and theater plays.


Maja Vidaković Lalić is a Serbian architect who is the founder and creative director of Belgrade's Mikser Festival, launched in 2006. She has been described by The New York Times as being Belgrade's "...most cutting-edge homegrown architect".

Serbia Fashion Week is a fashion show held twice a year in Novi Sad, Serbia. Occurring in April and November, the event attracts local and international fashion designers, such as Thierry Mugler and Anna Fendi. In addition to runway shows, seminars and exhibits, the "Fashion Talent Design Competition" helps promote young Serbian designers by showcasing their collections. The seven day festival also highlights the works of applied artists, musicians, interior decorators, multimedia experts and architects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Strala</span> Swiss artist, designer and architect

Tom Strala is a Swiss architect, designer and artist, known for his raw furniture and lighting designs. In 2005, Strala was awarded 2nd place of the European Luminary of the Year for the TMS 360 Series, a honeycomb structured light shade. His work is included in several exhibitions in museums and universities. Strala is known as design pioneer in marrying art and design.

Nienkämper is a furniture manufacturer founded by Klaus Nienkämper in 1968. The North American company operates a 120,000-square-foot factory in Toronto's east end that produces furniture for office, residential, institutional and hospitality applications with showrooms in Toronto, New York, Chicago and Dallas.

References

  1. "Projects". 14 July 2016. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017.
  2. "Belgrade Design Week welcomes the City of Kragujevac to the Human Cities/ family!". humancities.eu.
  3. 1 2 "INTERVIEW WITH JOVAN JELOVAC – NARATIV". 1 November 2016. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Belgrade Design Week". DisegnoDaily.
  5. 1 2 Beaumanis, Viia (2013-10-11). "On the Verge | Belgrade, Europe's Latest Urban Success Story". T Magazine. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  6. "THE NINTH BELGRADE DESIGN WEEK LAUNCHED-DIZAJN PARK MAGAZINE". 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018.
  7. "The King of Kool is so over New York". The Globe and Mail. 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  8. "Karim Rashid goes Belgrade". sajkaca.blogspot.ca. 18 May 2008.
  9. "Five Emerging Fashion Capitals Worth Knowing". pastemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  10. "New MoMA exhibition celebrates the concrete world of Yugoslavia". The Independent. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  11. Wright, Herbert (10 December 2015). "Belgrade Waterfront: an unlikely place for Gulf petrodollars to settle". the Guardian.
  12. "Luka Beograd :: Strategy". www.lukabeograd.com.
  13. "belgrade design week 09 the location". 31 May 2009.
  14. 1 2 "belgrade design week 2014 conferences open up a brand new world". 5 October 2014.
  15. "Jovan Jelovac: Dizajn nije umetnost nego biznis". glassrpske.com. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 2018-04-07.