Graduation Show 2019
The Design Academy is known for its global relevance and influence into the broadest reaches of the design field. The Graduation Show, which takes place annually during Dutch Design Week, is a focal point in setting the school’s agenda. This year, the iconic factory setting becomes the background for yet another radical turning point in the show’s history. Traversing the boundaries between the four Master’s and eight Bachelor’s departments, a new curatorial strategy will continue to question and revisit how designers present their work, sparking debate about our collective positioning within the field.
The Graduation Show is part of the Dutch Design Week 2019 (October 19 - 27).
A NEW CURATORIAL STRUCTURE
Today’s designer faces two essential questions: how do you perceive the world around you, and what character do you play within that world?
In response to this, the 2019 Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show seeks to imagine design projects as elements of various possible futures. DAE considers its agency as a community—of makers, users, mentors, students, performers, and viewers—to work together towards the fictional universe(s) of our choice. This year’s show is based on eight worldviews and five design characters evoked by cross-department selections of bachelors’ or masters’ projects.
From 120 bachelors’ projects, eight distinct worlds emerge. Landscape Amnesia relates to the retention or adaptation of cultural memory; Unknown Caller alludes to precarious employment; Training Set imbues artificial intelligence with the complexities of human identity; Seven Continents, One Ocean explores oceanic society under international law. Meanwhile, The Scavengers delves into the innovations of junkyard inhabitants; Hidden Publics examines urban subterfuge; The Guests are confined to therapeutic quarantine; finally, Channel Eight examines the tools used in the post-truth market of influence. In parallel, the 61 masters’ projects model five different characters, each one a distinct typology of designer: Performer, Critical Observer, Material Appropriator, Situated Agent, and Empath.
