Swedish Design Weeks - Exhibition inspires Hyderabad Audience in sustainability
· Inaugurated by the Shri Mohammad Mahmood Ali, Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana State, Ambassador of Sweden to India Klas Molin and the vice chancellor of JNAFAU Prof. Dr. N. Kavita Daryani Rao
· From images, to products, recycled goods and unisex fashion dealing with migrant crisis – the exhibition displays 19 state of the art design examples
· Designs by students from JNAFAU and NIFT are also being showcased alongside the Swedish designs.
· Two Swedish designers-- Katja Beckman and Maja Michaelsdotter Eriksson--whose designs are on display were present for the inauguration and will also conduct workshops
Hyderabad, April 4th, 2018: The Embassy of Sweden in cooperation with the Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU) inaugurated the Ung Svensk Form design exhibition in Hyderabad today, the centerpiece of Swedish Design Weeks.
The exhibition which is based on the themes sustainability, innovation and circular economy, was inaugurated by the Shri Mohammad Mahmood Ali, Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana State, Ambassador of Sweden to India Klas Molin and the vice chancellor of JNAFAU Prof. Dr. N. Kavita Daryani Rao.
Young Swedish Design is a juried award and a traveling exhibition which intends to broaden and deepen knowledge about young and innovative Swedish design. From images, to products, recycled goods and unisex fashion dealing with migrant crisis – the exhibition displays 19 state of the art design examples. Apart from this, sustainable and innovative designs by students from JNAFAU and NIFT are also being showcased alongside the Swedish designs.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Mohammad Mahmood Ali, Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana State, said; “Telangana has a rich cultural heritage and is home to various art forms. Such varied expressions of design from time immemorial have been enriching the quality of our lives. In the modern era, issues of sustainability and circular economy lend another dimension to design and make it more meaningful. We are therefore very happy to host this exhibition organized by the embassy of Sweden which aims to give a platform to the young designers not only from Sweden but also to our local Hyderabad students. I hope this exhibition gets a wide audience and marks the beginning of many more such collaborations between Sweden and Telangana in the future.
H.E. Klas Molin, Ambassador of Sweden to India, said“Sustainability and innovation are hallmarks of what we do as Sweden in India, and they are at the core of this exhibition. We are thrilled to give more insights into Swedish design and to meet and inspire young artists with these important themes, and provide an opportunity to explore sustainability and the circular economy.”
He also said, “This design exhibition is not just about aesthetics, through the prism of innovation, it highlights practical and sustainable solutions to some of our global social and environmental challenges. We are happy to be able to showcase some of the latest developments in Swedish design alongside sustainable designs created by the JNAFAU and NIFT students covering the whole design scene; from fashion to crafts to architecture.”
The exhibition has been on tour in Hong Kong and Seoul. Hyderabad is its third stop in the India, having taken place in Ahmedabad and Mumbai earlier. It is organized by Svensk Form (The Swedish Society of Crafts and Design) in cooperation with ArkDes, IKEA, the City of Malmö and Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair.
Prof. Dr. N. Kavita Daryani Rao, vice chancellor of JNAFAU said; India draws its strength and unique position in the world in no small measure from its vast storehouse of traditional knowledge. The varied forms of art and craft, building technology, textiles, medicine are all deeply rooted in the use of local, natural and indigenous materials. This inheritance has made up-cycling, recycling and sustainability a way of life for many Indians even today.
It is interesting for us that Sweden, which has been working in this direction, is sharing the experiences and ideas of its designers with our young students. It’s a great opportunity to learn collaboratively and to reiterate the need for sustainability. The young designers from Sweden are conducting a workshop in the University and I am hopeful that this will stimulate new thoughts and ideas of the possibilities in sustainable design. We are very pleased that the designers' works are being showcased in the campus.
Two Swedish designers-- Katja Beckman and Maja Michaelsdotter Eriksson--whose designs are on display were present for the inauguration and will also conduct workshops at the colleges on “Abstract expression - interpreting emotions in materials and critiquing by neutral questions”.
Talking about her design, artist Katja Beckman said;“With themes such as the human body, stillness and movement, I create textile sculptures. Stories and abstract memories come together without words, through the tactile meeting of fabrics. Inspired by the sublime in nature, and the feeling of total enclosure, my tapestries are abstract representations of memories, created in the structure of textile material. Rather than using colour fields to define the composition, many of the works are created in monotone colour scales so that the woven structures alone distinguish the image."
Speaking about the inspiration behind her art, designer Maja Michaelsdotter Eriksson said;"I'm inspired by duality, when things that are not what they first seem, or is hard to define. It can be anything from a person or a theory to a visual impact or an interesting material."
The exhibition is available for viewing at the Nehru Art Gallery, Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, from April 04, 2018 – April15, 2018, Monday to Friday, 10 am to 7pm, free of cost.
