Today is the last day of 20 Under 35, an exhibition that aims to facilitate a reading of the emerging trends across various design-based creative industries in the city, and raise questions about the recognizability of ‘Indian’ design. Organized by Design X Design and Alliance Française de Delhi, the exhibition showcases the work of twenty upcoming designers and their practices, from the fields of Graphics/Communication, Apparel/Textile, Product/Industrial and Architecture/Habitat design.
About Design X Design
Design in its many manifestations forms an integral part of every culture. Civilizations evolve and attain their full potential because of it. Design based creative industries in India are witness to a fascinating churning, necessitating a search for a vision that may inform their evolution beyond – spanning education, profession and the industry. Thus, involving exposes, roundtables, exhibitions etc. Design X Design is a step in that direction.
The energy behind the design of a pin or a city being the same, this joint initiative of Alliance Francaise de Delhi and Studio IF is also geared towards raising levels of appreciation within and nurturing connections across various creative industries – architecture, urban/ landscape/ interior design, product/ industrial design, textile/ fashion design, graphic/ communication design etc.. Local and global in outlook, it is directed at the initiated and the uninitiated alike
About Design X Design Exhibition : 20under35
The exhibition component of Design X Design involves showcasing the work of Delhi based designers once a year to facilitate a reading of the emerging trends across various design based creative industries in the city.
Is Indian design recognizable? Is there a vision guiding it? Can tradition and modernity, continuity and change co-exist in it? Is it culturally relevant? Questions such as these are more alive today than ever before. One sure way of gaining an insight into this and more is by looking at the work of young upcoming designers. ‘Design X Design Exhibition: 20under35’ attempts to do just that by sharing the design philosophies, working methods and future aspirations of the twenty shortlisted designers under the age of thirty-five.
The variety of work is evident as one walks into the exhibition. What is missing though is a thread of connection that binds these designers as ‘Indian’. Though the team asks some pertinent questions, the exhibition itself does not actively seek any answers. The intended path through the exhibition space remains unclear, dimming the possibility of finding a narrative along the displays. Sure if one is adamant about finding similarities and identifying trends there are some parallels to be seen. However, the curatorial team has failed to make their vision for the exhibition apparent.
*Appendices Attached were excited to see the work of Box Collective; it is always nice to see projects which are an amalgamation of diverse Design disciplines and critical thoughts.
Varghese has been involved with Design X Design since its inception and Pooja earns her bread, butter and beer from one of the exhibiting studios. If this review doesn’t prove our honesty, nothing ever will!
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