One of the pieces in the Madrid Design Portrait exhibition, by Jeffrey Ludlow.
Perhaps only the most astute have realized that design is found in each and every aspect of our daily lives . From clothes, to furniture, through buildings or, simply, in the tiles of your bathroom. In constant change and with continuous adaptation floods everything in its path. Madrid Design Festival (MDF21) puts on the table what many already know. He gathers the talent, exposes it and parades it, and the result is a city full of art for the next two months.
The common thread of its fourth edition contemplates a certain degree of melancholy, due to the emotional hangover of 2020. However, it also lands with a healthy dose of hope and optimism . It aims to emphasize the way in which design, just as it adapts to the times, also has the power to change your environment . Sometimes, he does not play the role of consequence, but that of cause.
What is clear that once we have transformed our lifestyle , the design has been restored with him to make our days easier. But he is also getting ahead of events. to face future challenges that lie ahead . That is why all the works that arrive at MDF21 do not come to show off, but to make all viewers stop and think for a moment.
The festival has made one thing clear: they will bring out the local brand . The spotlights will look towards the creativity that resides in the country and, although there will be room for dialogue and art beyond borders, the national territory will be the main protagonist . The objective, far from showing off, is help designers , promote the new and continue supporting the veteran.
Endless exhibitions, guided tours, awards, conferences, screenings, workshops... that will keep all visitors and design lovers very busy. A schedule on horseback between face-to-face and digital format that will be in charge of having all the interested parties glued to the screen. Take out the agenda and write down because this year, the Madrid Design Festival promises!
In Madrid Design Portrait, local designers come to the fore. This piece is by Patricia Bustos.
THE EXHIBITIONS
The offer of scheduled exhibitions is so wide that it would be tedious to list them one by one, but with a few brushstrokes, we can get a clear idea of everything that is to come. As a first declaration of intentions of what we had been announcing before, Madrid Design Portrait arrives on February 9 , an exhibition that aims to shed light on local design, and more specifically, that of the capital.
There will be 15 designers who will exhibit their works , whether they are natives of Madrid or residents, and the objective will be to draw an overview of what design means in Madrid. The exhibition will bring together disciplines related to product design, graphic design, fashion, illustration or interior design , among others.
The quality of closeness and that power to face the future will reside in Valencia Pavilion. The future is design. What invited city, and designated World Design Capital 2022 , the creations will be oriented to five axes that look towards innovation and the avant-garde: circular economy , the contemporary crafts , the social design , the border between art and design , and the technology.
On the other hand, one of the most notable aspects in recent times is that sustainability has gained strength after the pandemic . It seems that we are ready (finally!) to modify our habits, both consumption and life , and that is why at MDF21 it has become one of the most recurring themes in numerous sections of the festival.
Craftsmanship and sustainability will be present in many of the festival's exhibitions.
It can be seen in exhibitions such as the New sustainable materials for a circular economy, with the presentation of 100% recycled and recyclable plastics , a new polymer and a new fabric obtained from plastics and textile waste. Also in Gray matter, a sample of new materials focused on its biodegradable nature , or in Craftsmanship and sustainability, more focused on processes and craftsmanship , specifically from SACo (Contemporary Crafts Society).
How could it be otherwise, the Covid-19 will also structure some of the activities. In the case of connected , the spectators will be able to experience a connection, forgive the redundancy, with international designers . The project was carried out during confinement and brings together the creations of all of them from tables and chairs that adapt to the new life in homes.
And from home they move to hospitals with Emergency! Designs against COVID-19 , in which the designs that have meant a solution for healthcare needs . From hygienic and fabric masks, to devices such as respirators, or even disinfection robots.
Not only furniture, but also fashion and sustainable fabrics will occupy the halls of MDF21.
Among these fundamental pillars, there will be room for jewelry, gender equality, fashion and different retrospectives and tributes dedicated to specific artists and studios. Even guided tours can be made , as another way of attending the exhibitions. One of them will be at the Museum of Romanticism , for Furniture design in the 19th century, and the other at the National Archaeological Museum , for Designs for the future. The first objects designed by humans.
THE DIGITAL
An important part of MDF21 is going to be the online format . From their website they want to reach, not only the people of Madrid, but all the interested public. For this reason, they have prepared some initiatives that will allow users to attend the festival from home. One of them will be Madrid DesignPRO, from February 10 to 18, which will include numerous meetings and conferences with designers from around the world to discuss the role of this discipline and its influence.
The novelty this year lies in MDF Inside, an audiovisual channel in which the entrails of the festival will be shown , some open doors to how it is and how it is done. And this will join MDF Studio, a tour of five representative spaces in the city in which 50 local designers They will carry out the creation process of some of their works, a meeting between the pieces and the environment.
Innovation and avant-garde will be very present in works like this one by Héctor Ruiz.
To the extensive offer of projects in which the public will dedicate themselves to observing and admiring, they will also join a long list of activities . These will include documentary screenings, meetings with personalities such as Diego Rodríguez , an important figure in the world of interior design and design, the presentation of the Najat book , delving into Moroccan cuisine, round tables, contests, workshops, a gastronomic experience with chef Diego Guerrero and a long etcetera that will cover all corners of the capital.
In summary, February and March will be the water to quench the artistic thirst what we have. Madrid Design Festival comes as a breath of fresh air to entertain, investigate and discover in a world that will never cease to amaze those interested. Beyond simple contemplation, this year is presented as a torrent of thoughts and an opportunity for introspection . What we have clear is that we will attend the appointment, And we will do it for the love of art! (Full schedule here)