Czech designer studio Balance is Motion will represent Czechia at this year's ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan which will be held at the Javits Center, May 21-23, 2023.
Czech eco-design studio Balance is Motion will participate at the ECO Solidarity exhibition at New York's WantedDesign Week, alongside 9 EU designers.
The award-winning Czech eco-design studio Balance is Motion seeks to connect design creativity with an analytical approach to environmental issues and has been selected as the only Czech representative at the ECO Solidarity exhibition at New York's WantedDesign Week. They will exhibit their new project, Ruderal, at the ECO Solidarity exhibition at New York's WantedDesign Week.
ECO Solidarity 2023 will be held at the ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan design fair at the Javits Center in New York, May 21-23, 2023, which will offer design exhibits, panel discussions, workshops and more.
Since its foundation in 2020, the ECO Solidarity movement addresses the urgent need for reconstruction and recuperative sustainable solutions in product design, industrial design and spatial planning which provide an adequate response in view of human wellbeing, ecological, and environmental conditions resulting from various crises, including the ongoing war in Ukraine and military conflicts around the world.
The focus of ECO Solidarity 2023 is design with empathy. Reexamining the roles of designers and architects, designers look for more ways to offer vital skills and deliver practical support for individuals and communities affected by environmental disasters, war, and violence. Projects explore ways to improve domestic infrastructures, preserve and restore habitats, protect people’s health, and to accommodate the most vulnerable community members.
The goal of this year’s ECO Solidarity will be to redefine the urban habitat and domestic infrastructures to protect the health and well-being of people against hazards of potential natural disasters, and in the case of war, to provide a more robust response to the displacement of the most vulnerable groups. Access to resources such as clean water and air, food, medical supplies, as well as storage, mobility, transportation, and communication will be equally considered.
Through sharing of research and resources, this initiative aims to redirect the way the future post-war public spaces, living spaces, and shared environments, are envisioned.
The Ruderal project of the studio Balance is Motion points to a parallel between pioneer species that inhabit inhospitable wastelands and gradually transform them into places teeming with diverse life, and people who are thrown into a similar situation by war or natural disaster. They too must show incredible resilience to transform seemingly unlivable areas into environments where new life can take root. The studio’s goal is to support those efforts by creating modular, easy to assemble furniture that can be adapted to the needs of people living in temporary situations.
There will be an accompanying event organized at the Czech Center New York: there will be interactive seminar organized in collaboration with the studio Balance is Motion held on Saturday, May 20, at 11 am. Its participants will be able to design their own collection of modular furniture.
ECO Solidarity
ECO Solidarity was founded in 2020 by the Polish Cultural Institute New York in collaboration with WantedDesign Manhattan and is supported by EUNIC European Union National Institutes for Culture in New York.
ECO Solidarity addresses urgency for:
Human-centered, Green New Deal-aligned product design, architecture, and public space.
Sustainable design solutions focused on climate change ecology, public wellbeing, and public health.
Real-life applicable solutions addressing Covid-19 public health crisis.
Inclusivity and diversity: providing equal opportunity to designers from all genders and races.
Prioritizing European emerging designers interested in developing collaborations in the US.
European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC)
EUNIC is the European network of organizations engaging in cultural relations. Together with our partners, we bring to life European cultural collaboration in more than 100 countries worldwide with a network of 133 clusters, drawing on the broad experience of our members from all EU Member States and associate countries.
EUNIC advocates a prominent role of culture in international relations and is a strategic partner of the EU, actively involved in the further definition of European cultural policy. EUNIC is a platform for knowledge sharing and for capacity building amongst its members and partners.
WantedDesign
In October 2010, Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat met in New York and decided to join forces to launch a satellite event in conjunction with the ICFF, initiating a movement within the design community to build a real design week in New York.
WantedDesign, with two fairs, in Manhattan and Brooklyn, an online programming, Schools Workshops and with a permanent design store in Brooklyn, is now a year-long platform that brings together the global design community to showcase, educate and share inspiring and innovative projects and designers.
In 2018, Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat received the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, one of France’s highest honors, for promoting the country's design talent in the US. More at www.wanteddesignnyc.com
WantedDesign Manhattan
Each year at WantedDesign Manhattan, thousands of people gather to visit the trade event’s exhibitions and programs such as Launch Pad, Look Book, and American Design Honors, to see what’s new, fresh, and upcoming in design.
Acquired by Emerald in 2019, WantedDesign Manhattan takes place in conjunction with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) at the Javits Center. Odile and Claire will be taking on the leadership of both shows as brand directors for 2023. More at icff.com/wanted-design-manhattan
ECO Solidarity edition 2022: https://www.wanteddesignnyc.com/eco-solidarity-2022/
Best Booth at ICFF Editors Awards 2022: http://icff.com/fair/design-awards/
