Calls are now open for young designer showcases at Habitare 2024 – Habitare Talents and Habitare Protos to present new design
The calls are open for the Habitare Talents and Habitare Protos exhibitions, to be staged in The Block area of new design at Habitare, and calls will be open until 13 February 2024. Previously known as Talentshop and Protoshop, the exhibitions are curated and produced by Imu Design. Habitare, the leading furniture, design and interior decoration event in Finland, will be held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre from 11 to 15 September 2024.
Habitare’s beloved area of new design, The Block, brings together emerging designers, fresh product ideas, and manufacturers. The exhibitions to be staged in the area, previously Talentshop and Protoshop, have been renamed as Habitare Talents and Habitare Protos. The calls for these exhibitions are now open: portfolios and entries must be submitted by 13 February 2024.
Imu Design, namely Elina Aalto and Saara Renvall, will be responsible for curating and producing the Habitare Talents and Habitare Protos exhibitions in the future, too. In addition to Aalto and Renvall, the jury for the exhibitions will include the creative lead at Habitare, Päivi Helander, and this year’s non-permanent member of the jury, the designer Rasmus Palmgren, who was featured in the Talentshop exhibition in 2019. The competition secretary will be the Habitare producer Ida Ågren.
“Habitare Talents and Habitare Protos provide insight into the thinking of young designers and the future direction of design. Protoshop, which was launched in 2009, and Talentshop, which has been held since 2015, have offered a whole generation of Finnish designers a channel to showcase their own designs”, say Imu Design’s Elina Aalto and Saara Renvall.
Habitare Talents to highlight emerging names in design – Habitare Protos to connect product ideas and manufacturers
The Habitare Talents exhibition will feature four designers who are in the early stages of their careers, but who have already established a recognisable designer identity and shown proof of their skills. The exhibition has previously showcased work by designers such as Hanna Anonen (2015), Antrei Hartikainen (2016), Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen (2018), Tero Kuitunen (2017) and Laura Väre (2015).
Every year, Habitare Protos presents 10–12 ideas for future products. The exhibition, which will be held for the 14th time next autumn, and which has showcased some 150 product ideas, has presented prototypes from furniture to small objects, with some of the featured products becoming production items for companies such as Lapuan Kankurit and Hakola. Prototypes exhibited at Habitare have been created by designers such as Elisa Defossez (2019), Kristoffer Heikkinen (2018), Iina Kettunen (2019) and Hanna Särökaari (2018).
Instructions on how to respond to the calls from the Habitare Talents and Habitare Protos exhibitions can be found on the Habitare website.
More information:
Pia Sievinen, communication & brand, Habitare, tel. +358 40 559 9155, pia.sievinen@messukeskus.com
Elina Aalto, designer, Imu Design, tel. +358 50 511 8888, elina@aaltoaalto.com
Habitare, Finland’s leading furniture, design and interior decoration event, will be held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre (Messukeskus) from 11 to 15 September 2024. | habitare.fi | @habitarefair | #habitare2024
