Designing Identities in Paris / Designer’s Days 2012
Contemporary design captures the heart and soul of Paris with the latest edition of Designer’s Days 2012. More than 90 different addresses will open their doors to the public, inviting them on a creative journey that will explore the meaning of the word “Identities”, the chosen theme of this year’s artistic collaboration. One of the largest events in France, the Designer’s Days event is a non-stop visual and technical extravaganza that has successfully seduced the international community for the last twelve years.
After “Conversations” in 2011, the chosen theme of “Identités” seems particularly fitting in 2012, especially when we consider the importance design now plays in every aspect of our lives. From our telephones to our cars to our kitchen utensils, the melding of form and function that defines contemporary design allows us to add beauty to the banal without sacrificing the basic utilitarian nature. Designer’s Days 2012 confronts the multidimensional notion of “Identities” as seen through the eyes of the designers, artists, institutions and manufacturers that help make these creations possible. The various ‘scénographies’ scattered about the city shed a certain light on the artistic creation, transforming the concept into mutation and the process into presentation.
Designer’s Days 2012 is largely separated into 4 different design circuits, called ‘parcours’, with one circuit in each sector of the city. Form the “Rive Droite-Est” that encompasses the neighborhoods of the Marais, République, the Bastille and beyond, to the “Rive Droite-Ouest” starting at the Boulevard Haussmann and continuing to the Champs-Elysées, to the “Rive Gauche” which heralds everything south of the Seine (including the brand new City of Fashion and Design along the docks), and finishing up with the innovative outlying district of “Pantin” just North East of the city limits.
Among this year’s participants are an A-list of French fabricants, featuring Baccarat, Hermès, Roche Bobois and Christian Lacroix, accompanied by an A-list of international editors, featuring B&B Italia, Issey Miyake, La Maison du Danemark and Molteni & Dada. Among the participating institutions are none other than the Centre Pompidou, Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Les Ateliers de Paris, La Lieu Design, Le Viaduc des Arts, Espace Modem, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Musée des Arts et Métiers and le Ministère de la Culture, Petit Palais, Mobilier National, Fondation Cartier and many more.
For the full program, pass by one of the Designer’s Days ’5 Points of Information’ created by Made In Design, in collaboration with Moving-Room, that decorate the ‘parcours’ with a voyage around the world in an Airstream Collector Caravan, exploring the “Identities” of the 5 continents: Sergio Da Silva takes on America, Sarah de Beaumont tackles Europe, Aurélie des Robert dives into Oceania, Aurélia Grandel de Keating heads to Asia and Stéphanie Huré descends upon Africa, or check out the website online.
Designer’s Days 2012 - May 31 – June 4, 2012
Association Designer’s Days 24 Rue de la Folie Méricourt 75011 Paris 01 40 21 04 88 M Saint-Ambroise
www.designersdays.com
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(Photo Credit: DNA or Transmission by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrence, Design by Miele © Courtesy of Designer’s Days)