DFG-talks / Crafts at Design Fest Gent

Saturday 30/04/2022
16:00

Jo De Baerdemaeker – Typo Belgiëque: Reviving typefaces of undiscovered Belgian typefoundries to create unique visual identities

The content of this text is already in the characters that were used to write it down, literally. Behind every font that we use eagerly on a daily basis, there is a lot of research, work and history. Typo Belgiëque delves into a piece of local history of Western typography and studies historical type families and unknown type foundries in Belgium.

Jo De Baerdemaeker leads a practice-based research project within LUCA School of Arts, Visual Design, that develops a Belgian visual identity with contemporary font technologies. Inspired by historical, typographic printing from roughly 1830 to 1950, old font families are given a new, digital life. The latest font technology guarantees the highest readability and ensures that the fonts can perfectly serve as web and screen typography. There are even whispers that the fresh font creations can give Belgian design studios and publishers just that little bit extra.

Freely accessible with day- or festival ticket

https://www.designfestgent.be/en/programme#page-section-623ae521e866b021ce668d3e

other talks are given by

– BRUT collective

BRUT stands for bold movements and emotions beyond functionality. The collective, founded in 2018, consists of five interior designers who overlap in terms of concept, vision and design. The collaboration results in designs with a dark side and materials in their purest, most brutal form. As a collective, BRUT shows the power of Belgian design, in which the individual characteristics of the designers can come together, dialogue and coexist. Come and listen during the DFT-talk to how the designers - Ben Storms, Bram Vanderbeke, Charlotte Jonckheer, Linde Freya Tangelder and Nel Verbeke - initiate the dialogue between designers and their (design) environment. And how this interaction always leads to a scenography that visualises a collective story with individual elements. BRUT was proclaimed Young Design Talent 2019 by Flanders DC and received a Henry Van De Velde Gold Award.

– Bokrijk brandmerkt

‘Craftsmanship is the process of transforming advanced professional knowledge into a tangible or intangible, high-quality and relevant end product.’ That could be the definition. Meanwhile, we know that numerous terms and accents apply, but especially that ‘contemporary relevance’ is a constant. This is one of the reasons why the Bokrijk Open-Air Museum has been using a completely different approach for the last six years to make its heritage accessible, taking a radical approach based on the present, often in cooperation with creative partners. Without relevance on an economic, cultural or social level, craftsmanship is doomed to failure. It keeps makers and inventors on their toes.

It is for this reason that makers and devisers are invited to the now 7th BKRK Award #Smaak. You can register until 21/4.

– KUYCKXMEERS

Glass = 100% recyclable you think? In theory, perhaps. In practice, this is only possible for about 90% of the material. The remaining 10% disappears into the ground in landfills. The mission of KUYCKXMEERS, a Belgian design duo, is crystal clear: to investigate the possibilities of that hard-to-recycle glass. This resulted in a series of experiments with ‘foam glass’, a material that largely consists of recycled glass, mixed with a small amount of lime. In this way, glass is transformed into a light, solid and easy-to-process material.

With this material, Anouck Kuyckx and Thomas Meers create a series of zero waste design objects in cylindrical volumes, which also reduce the waste mountain. In the DFG talk, learn more about the second life of your drinking glass, kitchen utensils, food packaging or interior objects and follow the path from unwanted waste material to beautiful, functional objects.

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The fest(ival) for design in Ghent

The end of April will see the start of Design Fest Gent, a new biennial 10-day festival that offers designers space to present their ground-breaking ideas. By focusing on sustainability in all its facets, Design Fest not only wants to inspire the visitors and residents of Ghent but also challenge them and encourage dialogue.

Design Fest Gent demonstrates what design can (and indeed should) be: inquisitive, experimental and activistic. The festival encourages creativity and will become a matchmaker for new collaborations between designers, knowledge institutions, organizations and the industry. These parties join forces because design is so much more than making objects. Moreover, the aim of Design Fest is not merely to present things but also to focus on creation, experience, meeting, stimulation and amazement.

An extensive range of installations, workshops and lectures are bundled in three content clusters: Look Back, Move Forward and Do Care. Look Back shows projects bringing together craft, tradition and new technology. Move forward focuses on hybrid collaborations between science, design and technology with nature as a blueprint. Do Care gathers designs with a social impact.

The festival showcases a unique selection of existing projects and new creation assignments, which were selected under the supervision of curator Siegrid Demyttenaere in close dialogue with the partners of the festival and six co-curators Christel De Maeyer, Nathalie Goethals, Heleen Sintobin, Unfold: Claire Warnier and Dries Verbruggen, Bram Vanderbeke and Sep Verboom.

www.designfestgent.be

Programme

Design Fest Gent demonstrates what design can (and indeed should) be: inquisitive, experimental and activistic. Not only through presentations, but also through lectures, workshops and encounters. Experience, meeting, stimulation and amazement are central.

Sustainability has many faces, which is why the programme for each day is linked to a theme. See the full programme below. Follow the Design Fest Gent-socials for additional insights.

www.designfestgent.be/en/programme

Tickets

Design Fest Gent takes place from April 22 to May 1 at the emptied Design Museum and at various other locations in the city. The 10-day festival is an initiative of Design Museum Gent, Ministry of Makers, Ghent University, KASK & Conservatorium (HOGENT - Howest), LUCA | School of Arts, Arteveldehogeschool, KU Leuven Faculty of Architecture, Industriemuseum en Flanders DC.

Tickets are available as day pass or 10-day pass. Through this link you will be redirected to the ticketing page of Design Museum Gent.

www.designfestgent.be/en/tickets