Reykjavík Grapevine - jún. 2020, Blaðsíða 15

Reykjavík Grapevine - jún. 2020, Blaðsíða 15
New World, New Ways Desi!nMarch adapts to the COVID-19 era As Iceland steps into the post-corona- virus sunlight (fingers tightly crossed), Reykjavík’s design community is fran- tically preparing for DesignMarch, or as director !órey Einarsdóttir refers to it, “the cultural harbinger of spring”. The rescheduled festival—which was, as you might have surmised, was sup- posed to be held in March—hopes to usher in more positive times for the city’s creatives. Pulling together “In these COVID times, one week is like a year; so much happens on a daily ba- sis and there are so many changes. It’s been quite a journey,” !órey explains. And it’s a journey, she emphasises, in which she and her fellow event organ- isers have been determined to involve participants every step of the way." “This year’s festival will have a more local focus”, says !órey, explaining that support from Reykjavík’s local com- munity is more important than ever. It was vital that the exhibiting design- ers, whom !órey refers to as the “heart and soul” of the festival, were involved in the postponement decision-making process." That spirit of cooperation charac- terises this year’s festival. Take Björn Steinar Blumenstein’s project, Catch Of The Day: Limited COVID-19 Edition– “He’s produced hand" sanitiser out of"food-waste, which he’s going to con- tribute to all the other participants,” !órey tells us. It seems, in the face of the pandemic, designers have banded together rather than work solo. “That’s what I love about this community, it’s so collaborative”. Highstreet Highlights The unpredictability of the past few months have demanded flexibility from both organisers and designers. In fact, !órey estimates that around 80% of participants have changed their plans for the festival in the last two months. “We’re coming back to basics,” she explains.”We’re coming back to how it started. We’ve had no time to plan— things are just happening organically.” A key logistical issue has been find- ing ways to exhibit work whilst still maintaining the recommended two- metre distance between people. But the community found an unusual solution: Fill Laugavegur’s empty storefronts with designers’ work. The project, led by artist Sign# Jóns- dóttir, is a nod to the empty storefronts of the post-financial crash period in which DesignMarch started. It capital- ises on the new lease of life the high street is experiencing—one that began at the height of the coronavirus out- break. “Everybody was out. Everything was closed but it was beautiful to see people everywhere, just walking and enjoying the city,” !órey says. That said, many sacrifices have been made this year. COVID has seen the number of participants in Design- March shrink from 160 to around 72. International projects have been jet- tisoned until next year due to travel re- strictions and fashion designers have struggled to negotiate their industry’s rigid seasonal cycles. DesignTalks, the festival’s signature opening confer- ence, curated by Hlín Helga Gu$laugs- dóttir and fittingly titled “New World, New Ways”, has also been postponed. Despite these disappointments, !órey is optimistic that this year’s fes- tival will have plenty to offer. In fact, she believes the new social dynamic offers unique opportunities for experi- mentation. “It’ll be interesting to see how the design community is going to react because fundamentally [design- ers] can bring change,” she says. “They think in solutions.” Words: Poppy Askham Photo: Art Bicnick CULTURE NEWS Find today's events in Iceland! Download our free listings app - APPENING on the Apple and Android stores !órey Einarsdóttir, ready to bring Design back to March, I mean, June Festival DesignMarch will be from June 24th-28th. There will be 101 events and 71 exhibitors around the city! We Love Hotdogs Too DesignMarch: Sweater Sauce June 24th-28th - 10:00-19:00 - Red Cross Store, Laugavegur 116 - Free! We love "rúrarí and we LOVE her latest project. Working in collaboration with the Red Cross, "rúrarí has injected new life into previously unsellable donated sweaters. Dedicated followers of Icelandic fashion will recognise the designer’s signature surreal, playful approach to knitwear. Inspired by the unfortunate stains found on many of the sweaters, "rúrarí celebrates Iceland’s love affair with the humble hotdog. Bonus tip, there’ll be a fashion show on June 27th at 15:00, see you there! PA ...like and subscribe... DesignMarch: ASMR U Ready? June 25th - 20:00 - Listasafn Rejavíkur Hafnarhús - Free! *whispers soothingly into the mic* Physically touching materials is so 2019, in 2020 we prefer to experience textures through the magic of ASMR. Seriously this exhibition is not one to be missed, it’s got it all—if by “all” you mean meat packaging made out of animal skin, horse-hair experiments and animal bones turned into construction supplies. Valdís Steinarsdóttir is one to watch. PA Future Tunes DesignMarch: Wave By Genki Instruments June 24th-28th - 10:00 - 19:00 - Ásmundarsalur - Free! Imagine if you could just wave your hands and control sound waves— unless you’re a conductor this is probably as close as you’re going to get. Genki has developed a ring that lets you control music through movement and they’ll let you try it out at Ásmundarsalur. Just imagine the feeling of unbridled power. Genki instruments are kind of a big deal, they won the 2019 Icelandic Design Awards, so don’t miss this opportunity. PA

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