aesthetics – in short, questions of design. The objects show that design in Africa is understood on a much more inclusive level than in Western societies – and they are proof that this understanding can produce innovative new approaches to design.
The exhibition was curated by Amelie Klein, Curator at the Vitra Design Museum. Consulting Curator was Okwui Enwezor, Director of Haus der Kunst in Munich and Director of the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015. Following its premiere at the Vitra Design Museum, the exhibition will be presented at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao from autumn 2015.
The exhibition is accompanied by a 352-page publication, which offers a comprehensive overview of African contemporary design. Contributions include Okwui Enwezor’s new definition of a design vocabulary and Koyo Kouoh’s examination of social design. Other features are interviews with the renowned urbanist Edgar Pieterse, founder of the African Centre for Cities in Cape Town, and with Mugendi M’Rithaa, Professor of Design at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, who speaks about object and material culture in Africa. A second part of the publication shows all of the exhibits in a comprehensive catalogue of objects and contains summaries of interviews conducted during the exhibition’s research phase.
14 March – 13 September 2015
Making Africa
A Continent of Contemporary Design
curated by Amelie Klein
Vitra Design Museum
Charles-Eames-Str. 2, Weil am Rhein