Designmonat Graz 2013 Report

In the main exhibition of Designmonat (Design Month) Graz 2013, UNESCO City of Design Graz (Austria) featured UNESCO City of Design Nagoya.
The exhibition showcased selected designed products from the Nagoya area and introduced the design and culture of Nagoya with items collected and curated by students from Nagoya and FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Science. The collection comprised animation, manga, architectural models and photography, and was based on fieldwork in which they researched Design City Nagoya. Students from FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Science’s Graduate School for Exhibition Design prepared the exhibition space, creating delicate light and shadows using a number of partitions based on the image of Japanese shoji (wood and paper doors). The dimensions of all exhibit accessories, including the pedestals, were tailored to that of the tatami mat common in Nagoya. Even the screen on which designer interviews were presented was the size of the Nagoya-area tatami.

The opening ceremony, held on May 3rd, commenced with a welcome speech by the Mayor of Graz, followed by a message delivered on behalf of the Mayor of Nagoya, Takashi Kawamura. After the ceremony, Nagoya-based DJ Yota Shoji started the party, drawing a crowd to celebrate the grand opening of the exhibition.

We sensed the visitors’ intense interest in Japanese design, and were impressed by the way they took the time to carefully read the exhibition captions and product specifications. As neither moveable type nor Japanese characters are a common sight in Graz, quite a few visitors seemed interested in the exhibits of Japanese moveable type. Others enjoyed sitting on the pieces of furniture on display and came to ask us how and where they might buy them.

Holding this kind of exhibition within the design city network makes a broad appeal for Nagoya’s industrial design, and in passing that feedback to designers and industries, is a precious opportunity to envision new developments filled with possibilities. At the same time, we hope that giving shape to the different ideas that arose through these exchanges with students will translate into a development of human resources that will continue into the future.

Designmonat Graz (Graz Design Month)
Designmonat Graz is an annual, month-long event showcasing local designs from communities in the state of Steiermark and organized by Creative Industries Styria. This event, emphasizing the relationship between creative processes and the economy, has become a platform for innovative design projects contributing to promotion of participation of Steiermark area businesses in new creative industries. Since Graz’s accreditation as a UNESCO City of Design, the event has exhibited a more international flavor.