The Design Center of the Philippines welcomes October with exciting design celebrations

The Design Center of the Philippines, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), welcomes October with exciting design celebrations - Design Week Philippines, International Design Conference, Europe & Latin America for Culture (EULAT FOR CULTURE) as part of its continuous commitment to promoting a culture that thrives on creativity, value creation, and innovation. During these volatile, uncertain, and complex times, these design conference and festival play a crucial role in enlightening various industries in the country on the importance of a design innovation ecosystem with a clear vision of impact-driven design solutions that are not only technically sound but also help solve the world’s modern problems.  

 

With the success of its previous Design Week celebrations, Design Center of the Philippines continues the momentum as it holds on its 11th year of Design Week Philippines from 14 -22 October, 2022 at UP BGC, Taguig, the First United Building in Escolta, Binondo, and online.  This year, the festival goes back to its roots with “Design For All”, bringing design to the people by rethinking and reexploring what “for all” means. 

L-R: HUB: Make Lab’s Jodinand Aguillon and Eliz Ting; Design Center of the Philippines’ Executive Director Rhea Matute; TAO Inc. Founder Marian Pastor Roces; Design Center of the Philippines’ Head of Marketing, Policy & Research Kenneth Biunas

 

 

The nine-day festival will hold a series of programs and events including design workshops, design tours, design experiences, as well as design talks by industry experts tackling various topics such as “The State of Philippine Design”, “Design for the People: The Design Center Brief” and “Design in the World:  Designing Livability in Cities”. 

 

Meanwhile, the annual International Design Conference, which was first launched in 2017, will once again bring together leading designers, global thought leaders in the creative and business sectors to this hybrid event happening on 14 October 2022, also under the Design Week calendar. 

 

Themed “Future for All”, this year’s conference aims to spark and lead the conversation on the power of design and designers in addressing the major challenges of our time, shaping the society of now, and building a future where everyone can live and thrive.  

 

“This year’s themes share a common denominator and that is to give power and freedom back to the people in the spectrum of design. Through these festivals, we hope to be able to show that when designers and design skills are used, they can contribute significantly to the wealth of the nation, greater productivity and more innovation.,” shared Rhea Matute, Executive Director of Design Center of the Philippines. 

 

Design Week Philippines 2022 is presented by the Department of Trade and Industry – Design Center of the Philippines and co-presented by Tourism Promotions Board, First United Building and HUB: Make Lab and would not be possible without the help of Canva as its Design Partner, Adobo Magazine, Kanto Magazine and GMA Network, Inc. as Media Partner, and Kumu as Livestream Partner. 

  

Meanwhile,  in Intramuros, Instituto Cervantes will be the venue of   “EULAT for Culture Philippines: Filipino Design Links with Europe, the Americas, and Asia” which  gathers groundbreaking architects, textile/fashion designers, digital/multimedia experts, and gastronomy specialists around presentations, workshops, and conversations that take place throughout Design Week Philippines 2022, from October 15 to 22.

 

The events series is organized by the EUNIC cluster in Manila and RIDCULT, together with the DTI-Design Center of the Philippines. The Embassy of Spain Manila initiated the project, thinking to build on its appreciation of the Philippines as located uniquely amidst cross-cultural flows past and present.

 

On the other hand, Design Center Executive Director Rhea Matute, builds on the enthusiasm for progressive design ideas and explorations that have been gaining momentum in the Philippines over decades.  “The Embassies of Spain, Austria, Chile, and Mexico, together with Instituto Cervantes, the Alliance Française de Manille, the Philippine Italian Association, and the Goethe Institut selected and facilitated the participation of important personalities in the design field from their countries. The designers join their Filipino peers during the event series—peers who represent pivotal turns in the local scene.”

 

In his appreciation of the cosmopolitan design culture the Philippines has shaped in its historical and contemporary relations with global capitals, Dr. Javier Galván, Director of Instituto Cervantes, explains: “The Philippines is correctly the location of this EULAT project because of Filipino talent at reshaping what comes from outside the country.”

 

Independent curator and critic Marian Pastor Roces was engaged by Design Center to conceptualize the event series and serve as Conference Director. Roces emphasizes that the strong cooperation and enthusiasm of the European and Latin American embassies and cultural institutes in the case of this project does indeed foster respect across cultures and productive dialogue.  “EULAT for Culture” comes together around design concepts that address the world's challenging complications today.

 

Cutting-edge design thinking is variously embodied in the practices of esteemed Spanish Architect Salvador Perez Arroyo, German-based green fashion/textile Italian designer Arianna Nicoletti, Austrian multi-media artist Horst Hortner, Daniela Gil Sevilla, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Mexico and artisan Camelia Ramos, the sustainable development-driven practice of Italian Architect Romulo Nati, and the textile design and sommelier combination of the French Filipina team of Kévin and Adrienne Charuel.  Filipino scholar Fernandez N. Zialcita, Ph.D., and chef Margarita Fores, respectively, speak on behalf of Mexico and Italy, as well as the Philippines, in their presentations. Other speakers include veteran urban planner Architect Nathaniel Von Einsiedel, food scholar and anthropologist Corazon S. Alvina, graphic designer Jowee Alviar, Architects Deo Alam and the Architectural Partners Sudarshan Khadka Jr and Alex Furunes, social entrepreneur Reese Fernandez, textile innovator Ana Lagon and food scholar Datu Sharif Pendatun.

 

“EULAT for Culture: Filipino Design links with Asia, the Americas, and Europe” enjoys exceptional support from the Spanish Government in the context of AECID’s presidency of EUNIC; from the Design Center, and its curator, Marian Pastor Roces. EUNIC - European Union National Institutes for Culture — is Europe’s network of national cultural institutes and organizations, with 36 members from all EU member states and associated countries. RIDCULT is the Ibero-American Network for Cultural Diplomacy.

 

This project is made possible with the collaboration of the Embassies of Austria, Chile, and Mexico, as well as the Alliance Française de Manille, the Philippine Italian Association, and the Goethe Institut.

 

The Design Center of the Philippines is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) committed to developing a creative research and development program on product design and development.