presented by marion friedmann gallery & CURATOR LONDON Mucho Gusto! A pioneering exhibition, showroom & platform delivering hand-picked, first-class MEXICAN DESIGN CULTURE to London and a global stage. September SHOWROOM Location: 192 PICCADILLY Regent Street & St James s Design District, London, W1
Objectives SHIFTING PERCEPTIONS OF MEXICAN DESIGN AT LONDON DESIGN WEEK ENHANCE SOCIAL IMPACT FOR MEXICAN DESIGN SHOWCASE talents, BRANDS & CHANGEMAKERS PROVOKE THOUGHT, INSPIRE &INFORM ON THE RICHNESS OF MEXICAN CULTURE Create Awareness on a global stage FOSTER BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES & CONNECT PEOPLE WITH THE SCENE generate momentum for mexican design in london & Europe Offer Widespread PR & Press CREATE A PLATFORM FOR SUSTAINED FUTURE ENGAGEMENT
About the exhibition Present the yet biggest and most far-reaching assembly of Mexican product design, design-art & architecture in London Portray the richness & opportunities of the country through the work of 20-30 staggering, established and emerging designers, studios & brands. Uncover the diverse talent & protagonists in the creative design culture of Mexico. Focus on the vast array of traditions, materials, skills, workshops & artisans and show the exciting terrain of possibilities to work and live in in Mexico. Provide the opportunity to experience highly original, sensitive, qualitative, luxurious & original Mexican design. Many projects with a social impact. Shed light on the Changemakers of Mexican design culture: institutions, personalities & highly ambitious individuals that have contributed to form contemporary design culture. IN A NUTSHELL Reveal eclectic insights via a Media Corner : 200-300 recent book publications, local design magazines, film, video & imagery. Highlight the proud history, tradition, heritage & craft culture of Mexican designers & artisans Preserve & emphasize on the deep artisan-designer collaborations and spur social change. Catalyze social integration and sustainable design thinking for successful outcomes. Creation and launch of a continuous and ongoing platform - Mexico Design Time - for many future shows and collaborations to come Create momentum for Mexican design abroad and bring it to a global audience and recognition
MEXICO CITY. In 2018 MEXICO CITY holds the status of WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL, a bi-annual title granted for the 6th time to a city. Mexico City has a powerful story to share as a megacity using design to tackle the challenges of urbanization and ensure a more liveable city. It is the first time for a city in the Americas to receive this title. Juxta position of Tradition & Modernity In 2017/18 Mexico City gained title of UNESCO CREATIVE CITY (for design), joining 180 cities worldwide now part of this network. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creative strategies for sustainable urban development.
WHAT WILL BE ON SHOW - A MINIATURE PREVIEW MATERIAL LAND This exhibiton will showcase works of some of the best designers working today in Mexico. The visitor will encounter objects in a wide-range of particluarly Mexican materials, such as precious and semi-precious stones, basalt/volcanic stone, clays, metals, silver, palm, textiles, wood, glass, concrete, brass, copper, felt,...
OBSIDIAN PROJECT An artisan community development project in collaboration with Anahuac University & Secretaria de Cultura del Gobierno del Estado de HIDALGO. We will experience an ambitious project run by ANAHUAC University together with the state of Hidalgo and its initiative to support the work of artisans: students were put together with an artisan community in Hidalgo working with the mystical stone Obsidian, a volcanic stone and natural glass. The beautiflul black Obsidian is full of history and meaning and was alreaady used for tools and ceremonial objects by our ancient civilisations. The students have now developed forward-thinking functional objects that will help feed back into the underpriviledged artisan community. Obsidian is so far mainly worked into decorative objects and jewellery. This project wants to spur new areas of implementation for the artisans skills in Obsidian carving and crafting. It will create new perspectives and will add to the self-esteem of the artisan community.
HANDblown Glass The exhibition includes stunning works in handblown glass, ranging from vessels, lamps, a mirrored wall piece to glass jewellery.
ARTISAN-DESIGNER COLLABORATIONS Using clay and ceremics. The region of Oaxaca is famous for its various forms of clay. Indigenous communities have been working with this material for generations, but many pottery villages are in danger of extinction. An ambitious designer collective has been working with groups of artisans for more than a decade. Together they developed new applications, typologies and created demand. Through this initiative a range of villages are now thriving again with life and it s pottery tradition is kept safe.
STONEWARE CERAMICS Basalt / volcanic stone Cutting-edge ceramics with Mexican references
ONYX AND MARBLE
Human encounters Nosotros recyclamos / We recycle To dream of something possible... French-Mexican designer Thierry Jeannot gives a group of marginalised trash-collectors a new meaning in life: for 2 years he has been running a workshop to teach the group what to potentially do with the plastic bottles trash they collect daily on the streets of Mexico City. The initiative already had great success and outcomes. The people are united working on a collective aim through creativity and resourcefulness. Together they have created various works and public art installations for the centre of Mexico City. Next comes a huge chandelier for a major museum show. SOCIAL DESIGN PROJECTS Highlighted are various social design projects born to support artisan communities, raise awareness, or recycle materials.
Fashion & Textiles Cutting-edge ethical fashion & textiles, handmade in collaboration with artisan communities from all over the country, portraying the rich and diverse textile tradtions.
LAMPS - LIGHTING
Web Portal LAUNCHING AUTUMN 2018 [tbc] A dynamic & permanent online platform for Mexico Design Time WWW.MEXICODESIGNTIME.COM
MEDIA SECTION BOOK SHOW The media section will be at the heart of the show: In this section the visitor will gain further insights into the past, present & future of Mexican Design, Architecture, Craft & Art. Encounter magnificent book and publication design through 200 books, brought to you courtesy of CENTRO University, curated by Uzyel Karp and Ricardo Lozano. We will further have a wide array of Mexican design, art, architecture and life-style publications and monthly magazines to study. One can delve into beautifully made books, experience publishing design at it s best and watch videos and imagery. A section to contemplate in and dwell on Mexican creativity, read and relax while sipping a tea, cerveza or Mezcal.
TALKS & SIDE EVENTS LATEST PR & PRESS NEWS MEXICO DESIGN TIME has been selected to be part of the leading avant-garde and influencer guide through the festival - the ICON DESIGN TRAIL! Coming soon. The Icon Design Trail is a highly influential guide, bringing you cutting edge, forward-thinking design exhibits that take place throughout the London Design Festival (LDF). The Icon Design Trail is limited to 100 selected listings showcasing the best of The London Design Festival. The Icon Design Trail has become the essential accessory for London Design Festival visitors since 2004. Compiled by Icon s respected editorial team, the pocket-sized guide is packed with design highlights, giving you its view on the London Design Festival s most important and must-see exhibits. This year the Icon Design Trail will celebrate its 14th anniversary with 100,000 copies of the guide available throughout the London Design Festival. A copy can be picked up at participating events and exhibitions.
Marion Friedmann is a London-based independent design curator and founder of Marion Friedmann Gallery in 2011. She merges a penchant for the avant-garde with a passion to celebrate and promote the most remarkable emerging and established contemporary designers. The media acclaimed show `Enlightened Waste marked the beginning of the gallery s trajectory as an ambassador for international design with an established focus on Mexico and Latin America. Marion has been a design advocate for more than twenty years, working as a curator, collector, artadvisor and consultant. The gallery operates through a nomadic system of bold pop-up exhibitions and represents vanguard limited edition design with a special interest in `Materiality. A fascination for materials, processes and narratives informs the featured pieces that range from furniture, lighting, objets d`art to the development of special commissions for clients. Following her mission as galerist and curator she offers a platform of exchange between the continents of Latin America and Europe, with pop-up shows overseas as well as in London and Europe. In her curatorial and research roles Friedmann has been working on a wide range of projects with clients and collaborators like the Victoria and Albert Museum (2008-2017), the British Council, the London Design Festival and has lectured about Design, Curation and Latin American Design at Kingston University & the Design Museum (London), Chelsea College of Art and Design, Sotheby s Institute of Art (London), ADM Institute (Mexico City), Centro University (Mexico City), Anahuac University (Mexico City) and Fabrica (Italy). MARION FRIEDMANN GALLERY & CURATOR www.marionfriedmann.com Design/Art & Material Culture / Limited Edition Design marion@marionfriedmann.com various pop-up locations throughout the year T tel: ++44 - (0) 7949 726097