The
Design Center of the Philippines, an attached agency of the Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI), welcomes October with exciting design celebrations - Design Week Philippines, International Design Conference, Europe
& Latin America for Culture (EULAT
FOR CULTURE) as part of its continuous commitment to promoting a
culture that thrives on creativity, value creation, and innovation. During
these volatile, uncertain, and complex times, these design conference and
festival play a crucial role in enlightening various industries in the country
on the importance of a design innovation ecosystem with a clear vision of
impact-driven design solutions that are not only technically sound but also
help solve the world’s modern problems.
L-R: HUB: Make Lab’s Jodinand Aguillon and Eliz Ting; Design Center of the Philippines’ Executive Director Rhea Matute; TAO Inc. Founder Marian Pastor Roces; Design Center of the Philippines’ Head of Marketing, Policy & Research Kenneth Biunas
With
the success of its previous Design Week celebrations, Design Center of the
Philippines continues the momentum as it holds on its 11th year of Design Week
Philippines from 14 -22 October, 2022 at UP BGC, Taguig, the First United
Building in Escolta, Binondo, and online. This year, the festival goes back to its roots
with “Design For All”, bringing design to the people by rethinking and
reexploring what “for all” means.
The
nine-day festival will hold a series of programs and events including design
workshops, design tours, design experiences, as well as design talks by industry
experts tackling various topics such as “The
State of Philippine Design”, “Design for the People: The Design Center Brief”
and “Design in the World: Designing
Livability in Cities”.
Meanwhile,
the annual International Design
Conference, which was first launched in 2017, will once again bring
together leading designers, global thought leaders in the creative and business
sectors to this hybrid event happening on 14
October 2022, also under the Design Week calendar.
Themed
“Future for All”, this year’s
conference aims to spark and lead the conversation on the power of design and
designers in addressing the major challenges of our time, shaping the society
of now, and building a future where everyone can live and thrive.
“This year’s themes
share a common denominator and that is to give power and freedom back to the
people in the spectrum of design. Through these festivals, we hope to be able
to show that when designers and design skills are used, they can contribute
significantly to the wealth of the nation, greater productivity and more
innovation.,” shared Rhea Matute,
Executive Director of Design Center of the Philippines.
Design
Week Philippines 2022 is presented by the
Department of Trade and Industry – Design Center of the Philippines and
co-presented by Tourism Promotions
Board, First United Building and HUB: Make Lab and would not be possible
without the help of Canva as its Design Partner, Adobo Magazine, Kanto Magazine
and GMA Network, Inc. as Media Partner, and Kumu as Livestream Partner.
Meanwhile, in Intramuros, Instituto Cervantes will be
the venue of “EULAT for Culture
Philippines: Filipino Design Links with Europe, the Americas, and Asia” which gathers groundbreaking architects,
textile/fashion designers, digital/multimedia experts, and gastronomy
specialists around presentations, workshops, and conversations that take place
throughout Design Week Philippines 2022, from October 15 to 22.
The events series is organized by the EUNIC
cluster in Manila and RIDCULT, together with the DTI-Design Center of
the Philippines. The Embassy of Spain Manila initiated the project,
thinking to build on its appreciation of the Philippines as located uniquely
amidst cross-cultural flows past and present.
On the other hand, Design Center
Executive Director Rhea Matute, builds on the enthusiasm for progressive
design ideas and explorations that have been gaining momentum in the
Philippines over decades. “The
Embassies of Spain, Austria, Chile, and Mexico, together with Instituto
Cervantes, the Alliance Française de Manille, the Philippine Italian
Association, and the Goethe Institut selected and facilitated the participation
of important personalities in the design field from their countries. The
designers join their Filipino peers during the event series—peers who represent
pivotal turns in the local scene.”
In his appreciation of the cosmopolitan
design culture the Philippines has shaped in its historical and contemporary
relations with global capitals, Dr. Javier Galván, Director of Instituto
Cervantes, explains: “The Philippines is correctly the location of this
EULAT project because of Filipino talent at reshaping what comes from outside
the country.”
Independent curator and critic Marian
Pastor Roces was engaged by Design Center to conceptualize the event series
and serve as Conference Director. Roces emphasizes that the strong cooperation
and enthusiasm of the European and Latin American embassies and cultural
institutes in the case of this project does indeed foster respect across
cultures and productive dialogue. “EULAT
for Culture” comes together around design concepts that address the world's
challenging complications today.
Cutting-edge design thinking is
variously embodied in the practices of esteemed Spanish Architect Salvador
Perez Arroyo, German-based green fashion/textile Italian designer Arianna
Nicoletti, Austrian multi-media artist Horst Hortner, Daniela Gil Sevilla,
Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Mexico and artisan Camelia Ramos, the
sustainable development-driven practice of Italian Architect Romulo Nati, and
the textile design and sommelier combination of the French Filipina team of
Kévin and Adrienne Charuel. Filipino
scholar Fernandez N. Zialcita, Ph.D., and chef Margarita Fores,
respectively, speak on behalf of Mexico and Italy, as well as the Philippines,
in their presentations. Other speakers include veteran urban planner
Architect Nathaniel Von Einsiedel, food scholar and anthropologist Corazon
S. Alvina, graphic designer Jowee Alviar, Architects Deo Alam and the
Architectural Partners Sudarshan Khadka Jr and Alex Furunes, social
entrepreneur Reese Fernandez, textile innovator Ana Lagon and food scholar Datu
Sharif Pendatun.
“EULAT for Culture: Filipino Design
links with Asia, the Americas, and Europe” enjoys exceptional support from the
Spanish Government in the context of AECID’s presidency of EUNIC; from the
Design Center, and its curator, Marian Pastor Roces. EUNIC - European Union
National Institutes for Culture — is Europe’s network of national cultural
institutes and organizations, with 36 members from all EU member states and
associated countries. RIDCULT is the Ibero-American Network for Cultural
Diplomacy.
This project is made possible with the
collaboration of the Embassies of Austria, Chile, and Mexico, as well as the
Alliance Française de Manille, the Philippine Italian Association, and the
Goethe Institut.
The Design Center of the Philippines is
an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) committed to
developing a creative research and development program on product design and
development.
About the Design Center
of the Philippines
The Design Center of the
Philippines is the country’s only national agency for design, committed to
cultivating a culture that thrives on creativity, value creation, and
innovation. Design Center’s efforts go beyond promoting the value of good
design and onto inspiring creative industries to create human-centered
products, services, and spaces that make an impact in the Philippines and in
the world. From enhancing human experiences to enabling inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, the Design Center ensures that design plays its role as a
creative, strategic, and innovative tool for positive development.
Website: https://designcenter.ph/
Email: info@designcenter.gov.ph
Tel. No.: 8 8323650
