Design Without Borders

The Kiscelli Museum in Budapest has opened one of the most significant independent exhibitions in the region, a series of all-arts events called Design Without Borders that dates back fifteen years.

It is an exhibition series of designers, furniture, textile and jewelry designers and visual artists from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland; and an event series of contemporary dance and contemporary music

Incepted 15 years ago, this is one of the region’s most significant dynamically evolving independent exhibition and all-arts event series. This year, the exhibition series will showcase the works of more than 140 designers, jewellery designers and visual artists hailing from 14 countries.

For the first time a small selection of the works will be exhibited in Bratislava and Vienna too.

According to a summary by the museum, the title refers both to the ever-growing number of international exhibitors and the interoperability of the various art disciplines. An express will of the curators is to demonstrate the wide array of possibilities in interpreting design. By broadening the concept, they lay emphasis on creative approach and innovation that are based on constant inspiration, dialogue between different social, professional and generation groups, the clashing of their divergent opinions, and systematically arranging and transmitting information. Design-based thinking also serves as the starting point for innovation, education, making strategies and even solving problems.

The works, projects, objects and related events showcased in the exhibition emphasise the importance of productive interaction between the various disciplines of art – the visual arts, design, as well as the visual and performing arts. The selection highlights not only the artists, but also the role of social responsibility, civil society and creators in society, as well as the importance of networking.

The exhibition features design objects in the narrower sense – one-off and small-batch furniture, home accessories, carpets and soft furnishings – as well as prototypes, contemporary jewellery, projects (and films about projects) that interpret genre boundaries freely, propositions that are eco-conscious, serve sustainable development or highlight the role of civil society in shaping society as a whole, and works that present the cultural and creative connections within gastronomy.