Large-scale design festival held in Scandinaviacalled Helsinki Design Week. Our article is about its most striking events, incredible atmosphere of creativity and cultural identity. One of the most anticipated design events in Northern Europe, Helsinki Design Week (HDW) is held annually in Finland, in Helsinki. Since 2005, from September 4 to 14, this major festival brings together many creative geniuses in the field of fashion, architecture and urban culture. Moreover, every year the event changes its location and takes place in different buildings throughout the city. But be it museums or markets, shops or classrooms of educational institutions - visiting most places is absolutely free for everyone, so the audience is very diverse: from ordinary housewives to fashionable designers.
This year Helsinki Design Week wasspecial, as it celebrated its 10th anniversary. For young designers, this is an opportunity to prove themselves and find partners, and for experts, to present their projects that will set new directions at the international level. The festival program included more than 150 events intended for both the general public and professionals. The program turned out to be even richer and more diverse than we had hoped to achieve.
HDW founder and director Kari Korkman
If in 2013 Helsinki Design Week was visited byabout 50,000 people, then in 2014 — already more than 70,000. At the same time, every city resident had the opportunity to take part in the discussion and even in the development of design and culture projects. What was the most striking at the festival? What moments were most memorable? Let's go through the most interesting events of Helsinki Design Week-2014! On the very first day of the festival, a free seminar Design Curating Now was held, dedicated to Finnish design and the latest innovations in this industry. World-famous design curators were invited to it, who have vast experience in organizing exhibitions, festivals, design weeks and all sorts of significant events. And in the evening, a grand party was held on the occasion of the opening and celebration of the tenth birthday of Helsinki Design Week, which took place in the "Old Student House" (Vanha Ylioppilastalo).
The second day was remembered by many as interestingevent as Design Talks, where during the lunch break, famous practicing designers in a relaxed manner shared with the public short interesting stories about their work, life and sources of inspiration. The sponsor of this event was Audi, which is why several expensive cars of this brand were flaunted in the banquet hall.
On the weekend of September 6th and 7th, as part ofThe festival hosted the largest and most anticipated event in Scandinavia — Design Market, which year after year becomes one of the favorites of the Helsinki Design Week program. The Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas) was overflowing with people, large and little-known brands, discounts and a wide variety of goods, from plates to stylish clothes. Anyone could come here and buy the thing they liked.
There were also events at HDW thatwere held daily throughout the festival. For example, one of them was dedicated to contemporary Finnish architecture. The exhibition was held in the Museum of Finnish Architecture, where 10 best projects, chosen for their architectural merits, were presented using a huge number of photographs, drawings, and models. Another interesting event was the Kluuvi Design Lab, where professionals experimented with the forms of the future in the gallery at Aleksanterinkatu.
On September 10, the Show Room Walk started, whichhelped to get an idea of the latest in furniture and interior design. Manufacturers held presentations in their own showrooms, so everyone who wanted to could wander around the city's districts for three days and look into showrooms located a few minutes' walk from each other.
It is worth noting the exciting Open eventStudios, which opened the doors of creative studios, companies and offices for public viewing. What does a designer's workshop look like? What does a fashion designer do before a collection hits the stores? There was a lot to learn after visiting each studio, all accompanied by events and creative meetings organized by the designers themselves.
Well, and finally, the last weekendThe organizers of Helsinki Design Week decided to dedicate the event entirely to children for the second year in a row. The main venue was Abattoir, where many exhibitions, seminars, workshops and other events for the whole family took place. A great idea for introducing a child to the world of design and everything beautiful.
helsinkidesignweek.com, Aino Huovio
