Unveiling of Designers in Residence 2024 Program
Pforzheim, Germany - Three international designers, Alejandra Alarcón, Elisa Lutteral, and Simon Rogalla, have been selected as this year's scholars for the "Designers in Residence" scholarship program, which has been running in Pforzheim since 2016 in cooperation with the Design Center Baden-Württemberg and Pforzheim University.
The designers will reside in Pforzheim from April to June 2024, working on their self-chosen projects at the EMMA - Creative Center Pforzheim. During this time, they will receive free accommodation and a monthly financial grant, as well as the opportunity to utilize the infrastructure and offerings of the Faculty of Design at the University of Pforzheim.
The results of the designers' work will be exhibited at the EMMA Creative Center from June 29 to July 14, 2024. The exhibition, with the opening taking place on June 28, 2024, at 7 PM, aims to foster exchange, networking, and new perspectives within the local art community.
Alejandra Alarcón, a designer from Mexico/Finland, is critically examining the social and cultural dynamics of the table. Her project aims to invite people to interact with food in a different way and develop new artifacts for a playful, conscious, and imaginative culinary experience.
Elisa Lutteral, a designer from Argentina/USA, is exploring the representation of power in her project "Soft Power". She is interested in the contradiction between the desire for biodegradable and sustainable materials and the creation of permanent objects and monuments from metal or stone. Lutteral plans to create objects from galvanized textiles that question the perception of valuable materials and what we associate with power.
Simon Rogalla, a product designer, wants to translate his childhood experience in scouts, where he learned to build supports and furniture from wood and rope, into contemporary furniture in his project "Thread of Time". His concept is an alternative to timeless design, aiming to develop objects that can be disassembled into their individual parts after use and are no longer recognizable as what they once were. Rogalla also plans to develop a series of furniture and other objects made from as many untreated materials as possible, connected with different knotting techniques.
The exhibition at the EMMA Creative Center is a multi-artist show, part of a collaborative art event focusing on contemporary artists. It is scheduled to run from June 29 to July 14, 2024, with accessible opening hours to engage the public and cultural community in Pforzheim. The exhibition aims to bring new impulses to the creative people in the city and increase the perception of Pforzheim as a design location through international exchange and cooperation, as stated by Almut Benkert, head of the creative economy department at the Eigenbetrieb Wirtschaft and Stadtmarketing Pforzheim (WSP).
While the detailed theme or title of the exhibition is not explicitly stated, it is connected to broader dialogues around supporting artists, particularly female artists, as seen in related events hosted by Pforzheim art institutions around the same period. One such event, the "Female Guests - but not only" artist fest, focuses on challenges women face in the art world, suggesting the exhibition may align with inclusive, contemporary artistic discourse.
No further specifics on the individual design projects by Alarcón, Lutteral, and Rogalla were found. However, Elisa Lutteral is noted for a project titled "Something that has been laid down (Strata)" in 2024, indicating a possible thematic or material focus related to layering or geological concepts in her work.
[1] Source: [Link to the original search results] [2] Source: [Link to the related event]
The designers, Alejandra Alarcón, Elisa Lutteral, and Simon Rogalla, will be showcasing their self-chosen projects in the fashion-and-beauty and home-and-garden categories, as their work will be exhibited at the EMMA Creative Center from June 29 to July 14, 2024. Lutteral's project, "Soft Power," particularly explores the representation of power in the fashion-and-beauty realm by creating objects from galvanized textiles that question the perception of valuable materials and our associations with power.
