PRESS RELEASE


August 2008

For generations, people all over the world have had to relocate from their homes for a number of social and environmental issues. The effects of these displacements have often hugely impacted the development of these same societies over time. Even today, groups and entire communities are still being relocated due to the alarming effects of climate change, natural disasters, water regulations and political unrest.

In the northern part of Sweden the mining industry continues to expand and, in certain areas, the ground is crumbling under entire cities. This poses enormous challenges to the survival of such cities and may force their populations to relocate. However, is it possible to relocate whilst safeguarding and transferring parts of, or entire societies? How can this be done effectively? This is the challenge set for the Interdesign Workshop – City Move Interdesign – scheduled to take place 22 March - 3 April 2009.

In a partnership with Icsid, the Swedish Industrial Design Foundation (SVID) and the community of Gellivare, City Move Interdesign will be the main activity in a project about relocating people and societies. The project will look at socially responsible design methods to create new spaces for people.

Amongst others, City Move Interdesign will address the following questions:

How can the needs of people be addressed and explored when moving from one place to another and how can the people be involved in the development of solutions?

How can both old and new physical conditions be used in the best way to influence the planning of a new society?

How can sustainable factors contribute to a new and better environment for the inhabitants than the one they are leaving?

Identify and develop processes and competences that renew a society in the best way to make people want to work, visit and live there.

Can the process or reason to create a new society become an attraction in itself and create tourism and positive goodwill for the society and companies established there?

How can commercial activities in the new areas be created?

What are some of the best ways to spread the knowledge and experience learnt from this project to other people and organisations around the world?

The results and documentation from the workshop will become a part of a knowledge bank showing how the process could be used in Sweden but also how it can be adapted and implemented in similar areas around the world.

Participation

The City Move Interdesign presents a unique working environment and inspiring opportunity for participants to develop creative solutions for a serious problem. Through innovative research and collaborative work, participants can expect to share professional experience in an attempt to present proposals that will be adapted to the physical and cultural needs of the inhabitants. For the participating designer, the City Move project is a multi-disciplinary event to transfer, as well as expand professional expertise.

Participation in City Move Interdesign will be based on a formal application process. Because of the scope of the project, 30 to 40 people with different design competences and other relevant professions will participate in the workshop. In addition to this, there will be a number of expert advisors and support personnel on-site to facilitate the workshop.

Primary participants for the workshop include:

Architects

Industrial designers

Landscape architects

Social scientists
City planners

Engineers

Environmental specialists

Artists

Psychologists

Students

Others

The application period will open on April 15 and will close on July 31.

............................................................................
Read IDA ARTICLES on TAXI Design Network

IDA: World Innovators in Sustainable Design Announced

iDA Presents Architectural Digest Photographer Jim McHugh in his Exhibit

ICSID: June 29: World Industrial Design Day (WIDD)
............................................................................

EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Victoria & Albert Museum
London, UK

August 2008

A display of rare and lavishly decorated costumes and uniforms worn by the Tsars and court officials of Imperial Russia, most of which have never been exhibited before either in Russia or abroad, will be shown for the first time at the V&A this winter as part of an exchange between the V&A and the Moscow Kremlin Museums.

Magnificence of the Tsars will feature more than 40 superb ensembles from the
collections of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, Russia’s oldest national Treasury.
Highlights include outfits from the extensive gold and silver embellished wardrobe of the boy emperor Peter II, who reigned for just three years, and the coronation uniforms of the succeeding seven emperors ending with the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II. The display concludes with a five metre long, ermine-trimmed Imperial coronation mantle identical to the one worn by Nicholas II in 1896.

The display will feature garments which have survived wars and revolutions and
which have only recently begun to be studied in Russia. They show the work of the most eminent master craftsmen of the period, giving visitors a taste of the
legendary magnificence and luxury of the Imperial Russian court.

In addition, there will be spectacular examples of fashionable 18th-century men’s dress and uniforms of court officials, coachmen and postilions.

The display will start in the 1720s with the wardrobe of the boy emperor Peter II. Peter died at the age of 14, having reigned between 1727 and 1730. The elaborate style and cut of his clothes reflect the French influence on the Russian Court.

The collection of Peter II’s clothes forms a ‘capsule’ wardrobe showing the range of his dress including his coronation waistcoat, breeches, stockings and underwear, and a selection of his exquisite coats and gowns. The exhibits reveal the high quality textiles and changing fashions adopted by the upper echelons of society. They contrast with the elegant restraint of uniforms donned by later Tsars under their glorious ceremonial robes.

These costumes demonstrate the originality and skill of the finest tailors,
embroiderers and jewellers working for the Imperial Court and their use of
embellished silks, intricate embroidery and lace. Some reflect the influence of
Western Europe on the Russian Court. Others show how 19th-century Tsars began to adopt elements of traditional Russian costume reflecting a time of rising nationalism in Europe.

The display will include the historic fancy dress costume worn by Nicholas II to the Russian Ball of 1903; weapons worn at court; jewellery (including a jewelled
telescope and embellished snuff boxes); portraits of the Tsars; and illustrated
books.

The Magnificence of the Tsars is part of an exchange of displays between the V&A and the Moscow Kremlin Museums. The exhibition Two Centuries of British Fashion, showing 18th- and 19th-century British dress from the V&A’s collections, will open at the Kremlin Museums’ Armoury Museum on 5 September 2008.

Elena Gagarina, General Director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, said of the
Russian exhibits: “This collection of dress has only recently begun to be studied. The majority is kept in the museum’s stores and has been specially conserved for this exhibition. By including costumes and accessories of the greatest historical and artistic significance, we have aimed to introduce the British public to the art of the finest dressmakers, tailors, embroiderers and jewellers working for the Russian Imperial Court.”

Mark Jones, Director of the V&A, said: “This is a rare opportunity for the British
public to see the spectacular dress worn by the Tsars in the Imperial Russian Court, most of which has not been on display even in Russia. These are objects of exceptional historic importance from one of the world’s greatest museums. The exchange with Moscow is also a wonderful opportunity for the Russian public to see highlights from the V&A’s unsurpassed collections of 18th- and 19th-century British dress.”


............................................................................
Read VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM ARTICLES on TAXI Design Network

V&A Presents: Baroque 1620-1800: Style in the Age of Magnificence Exhibition

V&A Museum Presents: Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones

V&A Museum Presents: Magnificence of the Tsars Exhibition
............................................................................