The Design Museum is aiming to become a hub for knowledge production. The call for exhibitions for the autumn of 2022 opens on Aug 16, and this time the Design Museum is looking for entries that study the theme of knowledge and information through the lens of design.
At their best, exhibitions can shake up established thought patterns and help to view the world from a completely new perspective. The fourth Design Club open call for exhibitions has been built around the thematic of a new understanding. The call will be open from 16 August to 30 September 2021, and the exhibition selected through this process will be held in the Design Museum’s Gallery space in the autumn of 2022.
“We ask applicants to apply a broad interpretation of the theme of the call, knowledge. The importance of knowledge and information in the field of design, the work of designers and the social context are themes we would like applicants to explore. What does information mean to a designer or the design industry? Can a designer use information or data as material? How can a designer produce new information in their profession or in the context of exhibitions?”, Suvi Saloniemi, Chief Curator at Design Museum, notes.
An idea for an exhibition can be extended to comment on many types of social themes, from polyphony to questions of equity connected to knowledge production. Is it possible to generate information collectively, and who can be involved in such a process? And how can designers reinterpret historical information or the culture of objects, for example? Can we view old materials or techniques in a new light if we acquire a new perspective?
Entries for exhibition ideas can take advantage of processes of object design, social design, infographics, user interface design, art handicrafts, or critical design.
The decision will be made by a jury consisting of the Design Museum’s exhibition producer and head of sponsorship, and the head of exhibitions, services, and concepts of the Finnish Museum of Architecture.
The Design Club Open Call is a way of searching for new, powerful exhibition content and developing new business support forms for creative activities. The Open Call is organized in association with Design Club, the business network of Design Museum. The members of the Design Club are Finnish companies that seek to develop their business with the aid of design.
Design Club Open Call 2021 – Application instructions
Applications period
16 August 2021 – 30 September 2021
The applications shall be submitted no later than 23:59 (11:59 p.m.) (EET) on the 30th of September 2021 in pdf format to the address opencall@designmuseum.fi Design Club and Design Museum will select the exhibition in October 2021 and the successful applicant will be notified in person.
The entry, which can be an exhibition proposal or an installation, may consist of one or more works.
The exhibition concept selected through the application process will be granted €10,000 production funding. The winning proposal will also be offered the use of the Gallery space of the Design Museum Helsinki, help for putting the exhibition together and for its basic expenses. Exhibition schedule: 9 September 2022 – 15 January 2023
The applicants should submit their proposals under the theme of the open call, knowledge. The proposal must be somehow connected to the field of design: in its use of expressions, working methods, tools or discourse. Each applicant may independently define how to interpret and process the theme of the application cycle. The application may include suggestions for possible partners for the exhibition.
The call for exhibition proposals is open for Finnish and international designers, working groups, businesses, curators, researchers or students.
The entry shall consist of the following
Project description (max. A4)
Image attachments, sketches or moodboards (max. 5)
Budget for the project (max. A4)
Project schedule (max. A4)
The floor plan of the space is available in pdf, 3dm and dwg formats:
The Gallery is on the basement level of Design Museum Helsinki and has a floor area of 231 square metres.
Gallery Booklet (pdf)
Gallery Booklet (dwg)
Gallery Booklet (3dm)
Gallery Plan (pdf of CAD view)
Read more: Most asked questions
For more information, please contact:
Exhibition producer Sara Martinsen, Design Museum, sara.martinsen@designmuseum.fi
