Radical Design Week Shanghai: Finnish innovation in Shanghai (2012)
artdesigncafé - design | Published 20 October 2012
Radical Design Week Shanghai
Finnish innovation in Shanghai
26 October - 4 November 2012
Press release text by Radical Design Week Shanghai
(Shanghai, October 2012) Timeless. Innovative. Beautiful. Always practical, and it must improve life. That’s Finnish design, and it is on display this month at Radical Design Week 2012, a 10-day exposition of design in Shanghai from October 26-November 4, 2012.
Design Colours Life – Contemporary Finnish Design and Marimekko (26 Oct-9 Dec 2012 at MoCA) spearheads the RDW2012 events with an exploration of Finland, the Finnish design tradition and how design is manifested in the everyday lives of people— literally colouring their lives.
But RDW2012 is about more than Finnish design – it’s also about Sino-Finnish cooperation and how these two countries can and do work together. Taking its cue from the very successful Finnish Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo with its theme of “Sharing Inspirations”, the events’ ten theme days (see below for details) and over 40 events feature numerous inspiring collaborations between Finns and Chinese. The event showcases a broad range of design, from the fashions of Marimekko to the animations of Angry Birds and the heavy metal of Wartsila. Also visiting will be Finland’s most famous citizen, Santa Claus, who will be taking wish lists on October 28th at the Cool Docks. [...]
“Radical Design Week was conceived in the wake of Helsinki’s selection as the 2012 World Design Capital, and in fact, is a World Design Capital satellite event,” says Professor Yrjö Sotamaa, chairman of the RDW2012 Steering Committee, Executive Vice Director of the Sino-Finnish Centre at Tongji University and a representative of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, Sotamaa adds that RDW2012 also wanted to leverage Shanghai’s enthusiastic response to the Finland Pavilion at World Expo 2010 and stimulate further Sino-Finnish collaboration. “Radical design is built on co-creation. It’s about crossing boundaries, looking beyond tomorrow and taking responsibility for it,” he added.
Launched in June in Shanghai and Helsinki, Radical Design Week (RDW2012) is part of two major 2012 design events: Shanghai-D Week 2012 and World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. The event is also part of the EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
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