Joseph Grima to be the International Friend of Habitare in 2020

Joseph Grima, an architect, curator, researcher and editor, will be the International Friend of Habitare in 2020. He is a former editor-in-chief of Domus magazine and is the creative director at Design Academy Eindhoven and the chief curator of design at Triennale di Milano. Habitare, the leading furniture, design and interior event in Finland, will be held at Messukeskus in Helsinki, from 9 to 13 September 2020.

Habitare, which annually attracts approximately 57,000 design and interior decoration enthusiasts, has invited an influential name in design to be its International Friend. The International Friend explores Habitare and the field of Finnish design through global eyes, selects the most interesting content available at the event, and enters into dialogue with Habitare, exploring design trends and phenomena.

Joseph Grima is a British architect, who has a versatile career and background in exhibition curating, research and writing. He has worked with many design and architecture biennals around the world and has previously also been the editor-in-chief of Domus design magazine. Currently Grima works in both Milan and Eindhoven, as he is the creative director at Design Academy Eindhoven, and the chief curator of design at Triennale di Milano.

“I am very happy to be the International Friend of Habitare 2020, a network that connects and inspires an international community of designers and guests. I’ve had the good fortune of visiting Finland several times over the years. It is a very beautiful country, that I think one sees strongly reflected in its design history”, says Joseph Grima.

“Finland is also home to many important design hubs, Aalto University being one of these centers. There I have seen very interesting explorations from a new generation of designers that emerge. Habitare hosts a wide array of designers to connect and curate these conversations, and there we find new expressions for the extraordinary legacy of legendary designers such as Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen. I hope to see works that continue to learn from traditional Finnish methods while incorporating new technologies and material sciences”, adds Grima.

“We are very happy to have Joseph Grima as the International Friend of Habitare! I’m very interested in his extremely wide-ranging, analytical and even critical perspective on the field of design. I appreciate his work and admire the constant curiosity and openness, and the uncompromising precision that he applies to his work. Joseph’s experience in various roles in the media, educational institutions, museums, and projects will definitely provide food for thought for us at Habitare. It is particularly great to get Joseph on board as an International Friend in the year of Habitare’s 50th anniversary. In fifty years, Habitare and the field of design have witnessed a number of changes. This is something we will certainly discuss and compare notes on, as well as looking to the future”, says the creative director of Habitare, Laura Sarvilinna.

Previous International Friends of Habitare have been president of the Italian design company Alessi, Alberto Alessi; the curatorial director at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Cara McCarty; the chairman and representative director of MUJI, Masaaki Kanai and the influential design figure and critic, and author, Alice Rawsthorn.

More information:

Habitare: communications manager Eva Kiviranta, eva.kiviranta@messukeskus.com, tel. +358 40 775 6609

Joseph Grima

Joseph Grima is an architect, curator, researcher and editor who divides his time between Milan and Eindhoven. He is the creative director at Design Academy Eindhoven and the chief curator of design at Triennale di Milano. He is founder and partner at Space Caviar, an architecture and research practice operating at the intersection of design, technology, critical theory and the public realm. The studio produces built work, publications, exhibitions and films, which have been presented at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Vitra Design Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Barbican, among others.

Grima was previously the editor-in-chief of Domus magazine, and director of Storefront for Art and Architecture, an independent gallery in New York City. In 2014, he was appointed co-curator of the first Chicago Architecture Biennial, the largest exhibition of contemporary architecture in the history of North America, and in 2012, he co-directed the first Istanbul Design Biennial. He is also the artistic director of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019.

He has taught and lectured widely at universities in Europe, Asia and America, including Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design in Moscow, under the direction of Rem Koolhaas. He has served on numerous international juries, including the jury of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2010, directed by Kazuyo Sejima.

Habitare

Habitare, the largest furniture, design and interior decoration event in Finland, will be held at Messukeskus in Helsinki, from 9 to 13 September 2020. Habitare offers experiences and ideas on interior decoration, and on the functioning and look of homes and other spaces. Habitare highlights the ideas and works by a new generation of designers, and sparks discussion. In 2020 the 50-year-old Habitare celebrates the history of Finnish living and design. | www.habitare.fi | @HabitareFair | www.facebook.com/habitare | #habitare2020