Creativity, originality and making things by hand feature centrally in Habitare’s programme
Habitare, Finland’s leading interior decoration and design event, has announced its programme, which highlights creativity, sustainability, and the art of living. A touch of international colour will be brought to the event by the International Friend of Habitare, Joseph Grima. The 50-year-old Habitare will be held at Messukeskus in Helsinki from 9 to 13 September 2020.
Finnish design has a long tradition, and it is in a great situation at present. The Wild at Heart exhibition, which explores Finnish design, has toured around the world and will arrive in front of the home audience at Habitare, before travelling on to Japan. How was the exhibition created, and how has new Finnish design been greeted in Europe? The Austrian curator and director of the Schloss Hollenegg designer residency, Alice Stori Liechtenstein; the director of the Finnish Institute in Germany, Laura Hirvi; and the curator of the Wild at Heart exhibition, the designer Tero Kuitunen, will discuss the influence that the touring exhibition has had on the careers of the featured designers, how it has shaped the image of Finnish contemporary design, and whether the international joint project between several Finnish institutes of culture and science has been worth all the effort. The discussion, on Wednesday 9 September at 16:00 on the Arena stage, will be conducted in English and led by presenter Sami Sykkö.
The researcher, curator and journalist Joseph Grima, the International Friend of Habitare in its anniversary year, will present his selections for Habitare’s most interesting stands, products and phenomena on the Arena stage on Wednesday 9 September at 13:00. Grima will give his keynote speech on the same stage at 15:00. Read more about Joseph Grima.
Discussing sustainability in design
With the globalisation of design production, many companies and consumers face a new type of business environment. There is a growing emphasis in the global production chain on sustainability and an understanding of the impact of our choices on the environment, people, and animals – both near and far.
Furniture can also be made from non-traditional building materials. Art Classic Indonesia is an Indonesian furniture company that manufactures its products from teak roots and driftwood. On Thursday at 11:00, the director of Art Classic Indonesia, Sutrisno Tri Widodo, will talk about how they address sustainability in their operations. Organisations such as Finnpartnership enable various import projects from developing countries with the help of business partnership support funding. Birgit Nevala, programme director at Finnpartnership, will be present to discuss these projects. On Friday at 15:00, the Swedish architect Thomas Sandell will, in his speech, discuss his projects, which range from creating individual products to urban planning. Sandell, who graduated from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 1985, works as chief architect at the SandellSandberg design office. He has designed products for, for example, Georg Jensen and IKEA.
The full programme is available on the Habitare website.
More information:
Habitare: communications manager Eva Kiviranta, eva.kiviranta@messukeskus.com, tel. +358 40 775 6609
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. The International Friend of Habitare in 2020 is Joseph Grima. In 2020, the 50-year-old Habitare celebrates the history of Finnish design and living. | www.habitare.fi | @HabitareFair | www.facebook.com/habitare | #habitare2020
