Showcasing South African design
8 January 2009
Now in its sixth year, Design Indaba Expo aims to outdo itself in showcasing the best in South African advertising, architecture, craft, décor, film, fashion, graphic design, interior design, jewellery, furniture, industrial design, new media, publishing and product design – all under one roof.
Elegant lamps made of ostrich feathers; recycled milk bottle caps assembled together in flower mobiles; sophisticated laptop bags crafted from old billboard vinyls ... these are just some of the ideas that have wowed the crowds over the past five years – as well as hundreds of influential buyers from across the globe.
The 2009 Design Indaba Expo takes place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 27 February to 1 March.
Visitors will be able to take in the latest on the catwalks in all-day fashion shows, sample the finest in food and drink, view a short-film festival, be enticed to buy from more than 250 exhibitors, and hobnob with the designers in person.
SOUTH exhibition and competition
The finalists in the inaugural SOUTH competition, along with the SOUTH exhibition of legends, will also make their debut at the Expo.
Last year, Design Indaba partnered with Creative Circle and The Loerie Awards to form the Creative Alliance, who announced the SOUTH award and exhibition, sponsored by the SABC.
The SOUTH exhibition will celebrate the "legends" who have pioneered the emergence of a new creative ethos "inspired by, but not limited to, the rebirth of the South African nation," Design Indaba says on its website.
The SOUTH competition encourages South African designers to "invert their compasses and create something in the spirit of what it means to reclaim the world from the bottom up," says Design Indaba.
"SOUTH is an inversion of hand-me-down Eurocentric creativity – turning the world map upside down to find that South is on top and South Africa the pinnacle of the world."
Most Beautiful Object in South Africa
Visitors to the Expo will also be able to vote for the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa 2009.
"The award asks our diverse country: 'What is beauty?'", says Design Indaba. "While some may consider it an aspect of taste and others know it on sight, beauty becomes far more profound than a visual sensation when design characteristics such as social significance, economic impact, aesthetic value, humanist intuitions, lifestyle functioning and sustainability are thrown into the mix."
Y. Tsai of Tsai Design Studio won last year's award with his Nested Bunk Bed, which offers a space solution for overcrowded, low-cost houses.
Sections of the Nested Bunk Bed can be pulled out to serve a number of purposes, such as a sofa for two, grandstand seating, or five beds that can be packed away into a standard bunk bed area.
When fully extended, the bed system can sleep 20 children in a tight space of 50 square metres, as well as providing play space when the beds are retracted.
SAinfo reporter
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