The 17th Tallinn Design Festival will take place from 19 to 25 September 2022, focusing on issues related to sustainability and green design. Discussions on methods to readjust the impact of human activities on the environment in an era fixed on economic success, examples of circular design from different countries, enlightening stories told by professionals and workshops on essential recycling will all be featured over the course of the festival.
The center of the festival is situated in the Baltic Manufactory, a Tsarist industrial quarter, which most of the time is inaccessible. One goal of the festival is to revive spaces of architectural and historical value through culture. Factory’s infinitely columned halls will be filled with several local and international exhibitions, such as "3R - Reduce, Recycle, Reuse" presented by the Italian Embassy; design students' theses on the environment via the UK’s ArtsThread platform (including designers' teams from Mexico, Georgia, Moldova); the display of design and architecture schools, which reflects the level of Estonian professional education and the international competition-exhibition of the Haapsalu Graphic Design Festival "Juri Lotman 100. Unpredictability". And let’s not forget the best work displays of the BRUNO Product Design award!
The international conference "Green-Being: WTF?*" will challenge greenwashing by presenting best practices and inspiring solutions from designers and product and service developers. Does the solution lie in recycling and new environmentally friendly materials only, or is it possible to redesign production processes to lengthen the value chain of materials and products? The keynote speakers will include David Kusuma, President-Elect of the World Design Organization (WDO), John Thackara, design-thinker and writer, and Reet Aus PhD, fashion innovator. Eray Sertaç Ersayin, Sergio Dávila, Paula Nerlich, Kärt Ojavee and Kai Realo are also presenting at the conference.
The highlight of the festival is the Estonian Design Awards gala, where the best of different design fields will be announced. Exciting events are aplenty: on festival’s opening night Estonian Academy of Arts' research centre DiMa will present a clothing collection created with Estonian and Kenyan design students; several workshops and design talks host a stage for both designers and design enthusiasts for conversation; the original performance of D_O_M shows local sustainable style. Festival audience's favorite "Design Street" is once again packed with the joy of discovery; however, as a brand new entry in the festival, the Design Quiz offers just the right amount of challenge. The children's program Mini Manufactory makes sure to involve the youngest in the festival's design activities! The unique architecture of the Baltic Manufactory has inspired lighting designers whose installations will be seen in the most unexpected places. A series of black and white paintings by Pille Ernesaks will be made from the last cotton fabric of the manufactory. For socializing, dining and enjoyment a special lounge environment based on recycled materials will be created. Tours introducing the Baltic Manufactory will take place with the Estonian Centre for Architecture.
Remember, the Tallinn Design Festival reaches beyond the Manufactory: satellites hosting various exhibitions, tours and product presentations shine throughout the city. Among them, the exhibition "50 Bags to Live For" by the designer Anthony Luciano from New York will delight vintage-friends at the Estonian Design House+ showroom. In addition to the exhibition of hundred-year-old purses, those interested can also see how stylishly it is possible to modernize old and fragile fashion objects. Many design-oriented organizations will also participate in the festival program, including EDK and ETDM.
Keep an eye on the upcoming events of the XVII Tallinn Design Festival also on our Facebook!
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Memories from 2018 here
Memories from 2017 here
Memories from 2016 here
