Stimuleringsfonds

The Salone del Mobile 2024, one of the largest international fairs for furniture and product design, is taking place in Milan from 16 to 21 April 2024. The Creative Industries Fund NL called on professional Dutch designers, makers and design agencies to submit a proposal for a presentation during the international fair week. Coordinator Roxanne Minten reflects on the selection.

7 March 2024

The Open Call Salone del Mobile 2024 resulted in 25 projects being submitted. From these, advisers Arnout Meijer, Anouk van Klaveren and Bao Yao Fei selected 11 projects. With the selected projects, the Fund aims to present the excellent quality of the Dutch design sector and to strengthen the international reputation of the creative industries in the Netherlands.

The selection consists of:

- SRA SIx Studio – Elevator Radio in BASE Milano
- Studio Cecilia Casabona – The (Dutch) Embassy of Living (WT) in DOPO?
- LoopLoop – Local Loops in Alcova
- Studio Simone Post – ELVIS - POST - HELICOPTER - OPEN ATELIERS in Alcova
- Daniel van Dijck – Een Decennium van Design in Isola
- Tanaykandpal – Of Returning in Isola
- Iris Nijenhuis – Atelier Iris Nijenhuis X Salone del Mobile in Isola
- Collective Works Kiosk of Reciprocity - A Mobile Tool for Conviviality and Collaborative Welfare in Milan in Stecca3
- Alissa+Nienke – A+N Studio in Milan at Rosanna Orlandi
- Fenna van der Klei – Let’s launch! Pleated Partition Screen in Masterly
- 56 hours – Exhibition at SaloneSatellite in Satellite

general impression

The selection provides a broad picture of the artistic qualities of the Dutch design field. The various design practices express themselves in different ways, for instance SRA SIx Studio’s radio station. With BASE Milano as its broadcasting base, the Elevator Radio airs interviews, round-table discussions and music. Several group presentations are also being supported, offering a reflection on the current design system. Collective Works Kiosk of Reciprocity opens the mobile kiosk A Mobile Tool for Conviviality and Collaborative Welfare in Milan, an open meeting place for informal gatherings and interactions.

Studio Cecilia Casabona - The Dutch Embassy of Living

A number of presentations make an important statement to Milan on social and societal issues, which will hopefully contribute to the question of what design can mean in these times. The project The (Dutch) Embassy of Living (WT) explores design as a tool to draw attention to the contrast between exhibiting objects for the interior and the impossibility of finding good housing in both the Netherlands and Milan.

A striking feature of this round was the number of practices that not only presented a result, but showed the working method of the processes (including production processes) and applications of technology in the design. For instance, designers Simone Post, Elvis Wesley and Adrianus Kundert are presenting the exhibition ELVIS - POST - HELICOPTER - OPEN ATELIERS (photo above) at Alcova and show the working method of the making process in the atelier.

locations

The selected projects will be presented at different locations in Milan, including at Rosanna Orlandi, Masterly, Stecca3 and Satellite. In North Milan this year is Alcova, a platform for designers, institutions and researchers exploring the future of living and making, which is featuring three projects. This edition, three selected projects can be seen in the Isola district. Complementary to the presentation of SRA SIx Studio’s project, 10 starting makers and designers we are supporting, who are presenting internationally for the first time, will be featured in a group exhibition in BASE Milano. A hybrid cultural centre based in Milan’s Tortona district, it encourages research, experimentation, cross-pollination and exchange.

assessment

The proposals submitted were assessed against the criteria for this open call:
- the artistically relevant value of the presentation;
- the plan and motivation;
- the relevance of the presentation for the applicant’s practice and the Dutch creative industries.

numbers

Of the 25 subsidy applications taken into consideration, 11 are receiving grants. This brings the percentage of applications receiving grants to 50.2%. The total amount requested by the selected applications exceeds the budget of € 50,000 by an amount of € 21,407. Because the committee stresses the importance of collectives and group presentations, the decision was taken to honour all the positively assessed group applications with an additional budget from the Internationalization of the Design Sector Grant Scheme.