The fair is the brainchild of Trevyn and Julian McGowan – renowned for their work on the Southern Guild exhibitions of collectible South African design, as well as putting local design in big international retailers such as Anthopologie and the Conran Shops through their company Source SA. Trevyn also guides the Design Network Africa initiative that brings together leading designers from around the continent.

In celebrating Cape Town as World Design Capital 2014, instead of taking South African and African design to the world, as they have been doing since 2008, Guild brings the world to South Africa. To Cape Town, in specific, thanks to a partnership with Arcelor Mittal South Africa, sponsorship from Absa Private Banking and association with the V&A Waterfront and WDC2014. 

The fair’s featured designer is Eindhoven-based Nacho Carbonell, named Designer of the Future by Design Miami in 2009. He is known for his distinctive design-art pieces featuring organic forms and animated surfaces that challenge conventional perceptions of design. Sponsored by BMW, Nacho will show his Playground Closes At Dusk interactive exhibition based on the five senses.

Nacho’s gallerist, Rossana Orlandi, often referred to as the fairy godmother of design for her trailblazing work with emerging designers, will also be presenting an exhibition  of avant garde European design. Provocative São Paulo-based gallery, Coletivo Amor de Madre will do the same for South America.

From New York, the R20th Century gallery present a compelling narrative about the history and future of US design since 1960, through the work of Wendell Castle, Jeff Zimmerman, David Wiseman, The Haas Brothers and Thaddeus Wolfe.

The Agents of the 3D Revolution will show how the most innovative international 3D print designers and artists are shaping new technology to serve their creative needs. In contrast, the V&A Museum of London will present contemporary British design and “making”. This will also entail the launch of the Makers Library Network with Daniel Charney thanks to a commission from the British Council’s ConnectZA programme.

With all these international luminaries heading south, what will we show them? The Design Origins Africa South exhibition by the Origins Centre in Joburg will challenge visitors to question ideas of “advancement” and “function” by displaying objects that attest to human ingenuity from the deep past, from the very first objects produced by man 110 000 years ago, through to modern times.

Puppets from the Handspring Puppet Company’s acclaimed War Horse production, the Design Network Africa exhibition that showed at London Design Week last year, and a selection of the best Southern Guild designs over the year will complete our country and continent’s representation at the fair.

More than just a fair for beautiful objects, Guild represents the coming together of dedicated, focused curators, designers and institutions who are striving to preserve and provoke unique, groundbreaking design. The exhibition will be complemented by public and professional seminars, workshops and walkabouts.

“Some of the Guild participants are commercial galleries, some are organisations, some are institutions. What they share is a desire to articulate and shape our understanding of the importance of this category of design driven by heart, skill and vision – the most human forms of expression,” explains Trevyn.

“When designers are deeply involved in the process of what they make – hands on, immersed – a different kind of work emerges, the distance between what is rapidly made, mass-produced or machine-led and what is a result of process, intimacy and narrative, becomes greater. Handmade pieces are what really contain meaning for society and for the people who own them.”

Guild, The Lookout, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, guilddesignfair.com

Read VISI’s in-depth feature on the world trend of “collectible design” and the Guild exhibition in the WILD DESIGN issue, now on shelves.

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The rumours are true: Heath Nash has closed shop, and production of his recycled-plastic Flowerballs has come to an end. Already an icon of South African design, the lampshades are now collectors items. Heath himself has turned to developing products with craft groups around the continent. Facilitated by Design Network Africa, here’s the story of his first glass items, developed in Kenya.

The multi-functional glassware forms part of the Design Network Africa exhibition, first seen at last year’s London Design Week (read more here) and soon to be seen at the Guild Design Fair in Cape Town from Friday 28 February to Sunday 9 March. Read more about SA’s first international design fair here.

heathnash.com, designnetworkafrica.org

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Hosted at Habitat’s Platform space on King’s Road, the Graphic Africa exhibition features the work of 16 designers from 10 African countries and runs well beyond the London Design Festival, until Sunday 20 October.

Entailing over 20 pieces of new furniture, and a capsule collection of ceramics, glassware and lighting, Graphic Africa was curated by Trevyn and Julian McGowan of Source. The exhibition includes modern furniture and lighting by Johannesburg’s Dokter and Misses, hand-strung iconic furniture from Mali’s Cheick Diallo, crafted metal furniture by Burkina Faso’s Hamed Ouattara, artistic ceramics by Cape Town’s Imiso Ceramics and graphic textiles by Mali’s Boubacar Doumbia.

Much of the work is the result of the Design Network Africa project, including the debut of Heath Nash’s new glassware developed in Kenya and featured in the SPRINGLOADED VISI 68. Boubacar is also working with Rebecca Hoyes, Habitat’s senior designer, to produce a collection of cushions, throws and home textiles based on “mud cloth” techniques.

In turn running from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 September, 100% Design is the massive expo that happens annually at Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre. This year’s South African pavilion is called Framework and features the contemporary furniture design of over 13 local designers.

From Vogel and Pierre Cronje’s traditional-with-a-twist to the modernist edge of Joe Paine and Indigi Designs, and the zippy cork of Snapp and Wiid, not to mention the ever-popular Willowlamp and distinguished Tonic, we’re proud to confirm that there is most definitely a distinctive, sophisticated aesthetic emerging in South African furniture.

As an aside, we couldn’t help but notice that the 100% Design marketing campaign is most certainly inspired by Li Edelkoort’s totem trend, which she announced at Design Indaba earlier this year.

South Africa might be at the tip of the Earth, but good ideas float to the top!

www.londondesignfestival.com

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