In my earlier post , I said I went exhibition hopping a few weekends ago. The second exhibition was Design Week Lagos‘ Exhibition. I found about Design Week Lagos sometime last year. Since we were in the thick of COVID, the events held online but I thought the event was canceled. This year I was determined not to miss it. It was set to hold from the 21st to 31st of October. I set a reminder to register for their events. I was unfortunately unable to this as their site was unresponsive. I sent emails with no response. Luckily for me, one of the people I follow indicated that I could register for the events on Event Brite. By then , the IFI Africa Roundtable even had held and I was bummed out I missed it. But I did catch bits from Instagram and it was amazing to see interior designers from across the continent networking. An interesting tidbit I learned from this roundtable was that the University of Ife now offers a master’s in Interior Design. I think that’s amazing. If you happen to know anyone who has graduated from the program. Please let me know. I’d love to speak to them.
Other activities planned out for the week were the launch of the Interior Design Professional Guide for Africa and the Middle East, the Interior Design Buyer Guide App Launch, the Design Kulture Exhibition, the Student Design Competition Finale, the Made by Design premiere and the Design Awards Ceremony
Most of these events were either strictly by invitation or fully online.
However, the Design Kulture was open to the public and fully physical and I was so excited to be there. The event claims to be ” a bridge between manufacturers and design practitioners within the region.” The exhibition was held from the 23rd-30th of October at Whitespace, Ikoyi.
Here are my top picks from the event.
The Fabric of Our Matter Reality by ADD. apt
The first was an interactive experience by ADD.apt which required that we input the materials used most as design professionals and as they collected more of the data the map of nigeria will morphed to show the places most affected my our material choices. I thought it was really interesting. I didn’t stay long enough to see the map morph in to its final form but I hope they publish the results soon.
Selah Lamp by Nmbello Studio
Made of one sheet of metal, the multifunctional piece is one I’ve wanted for the longest time. It’s a lamp, a stool and a book stand. Nifemi Marcus Bello’s work displays great research, respect for materiality and an understanding that he is not bound by stereotypical notions of what constitutes “African Design”.
Arrangement by Belverence Tameu
I really enjoyed this arrangement. I’m not sure whether to call it floral. But all I know is I wish I could take it home. The wispy material’s contrast with the sturdy reeds so pretty.
Belverence is a Cameroonian architectural designer based in Italy and Morocco.
Stools by Tekura
These stools made me look twice and you can see why. Very much enamoured with the contrast of the spindly legs and the solid feel of the colour of the stools
Tekura is a Ghanaian brand that creates contemporary and “artistic” furniture and design objects.
Titilailai by Titi Ogufere
This chair looked like a comb and I quite liked it. Another beautiful functional sculpture.
Titi Ogufere is the founder of the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria and the President of the board of Design Week.
Ikeoku Lamp by Ike of Lagos
I already saw the sketches of this lamp because I follow the designer Joshua Egesi and I was excited to see it come to life. The Ikeoku lamp is a modern rendition of the kerosene lantern which has fallen out of popular use. I really enjoyed looking at it. The mix of materials was really important to me because I love when designers test the Nigerian manufacturing capacity outside of wood.
Honourable mention to this hanging version of the Sisi Eko Lights by Studio Lani . I really cannot get enough of Studio Lani. The photo below is by Roman Hamzat, my exhibition friend.
Here is everything else I thought was interesting.
Chairs and Stool by Olu Amoda. He describes the chair as one that demands respect because sitters are required to balance the chair with their feet.
Kassena Collection by Ethnik Africa
Wallpaper by TeMa Designz and a cheeky photo of me.
Akaba Parasa Chairs from Ile Ila. I was not a huge fan of the Irorun table.
Here are some other photos from the exhibition. Unfortunately there weren’t any tags on these products. I will be adding the designers’ names once I find out. If you happen to know. Let me know in the comments.
I was unable to watch the design competition finale because I had a stage play to attend on the same day. Hopefully, they upload it to YouTube soon and I can watch it and share my thoughts with you.
For some reason, the Made by Design Documentary is not available for streaming. Once it is, I will be watching!
I believe Design Week is here to stay and I hope that grows bigger as the years pass. Design Week has started an important conversation between designers and their communities. I believe this is essential to improve design solutions and to allow Nigerians to develop a sense of value for design. I hope it becomes a bigger part of the Nigerian art season and that it’s impact spreads to other parts of Nigeria.
Let me know what you think in the comments. Did you attend any of the events at Design Week? Do you like any of these pieces?
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