Salone del Mobile 2023 – 18 projects selected

13 April 2023

The eighth edition of the Open Call Salone del Mobile 2023 yielded 28 proposals. From these, advisers Lucas Evers, Arnout Meijer and Simone Post selected 18 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:

- Basketclub ­– Basketclub
- Studio Agne ­– Ignorance is Bliss collection
- The New Raw ­– WIP
- Inside Outside BV ­– Parco del Ponte
- Pierluigi Pompeï ­– VOCUM
- Studio Bruno Szenk ­– I=Fe
- social label ­– BELONGING, a modern fairytale
- Envisions ­– Rē
- Ramon Jimenez Cardenas ­– Inhabitable Worlds (working title)

- Novo Typo ­– Salone Offgrid
- Kick Veldman – CASTED MIRRORS
- Francesca Tambussi ­– The Hyperburgers Manifesto
- Dutch Invertuals B.V. ­– Dutch Invertuals Invites
- Novel Grey ­– International Impact
- ercoffice ­– Duplicating Landscape
- David Derksen Design ­– Indoor Outdoor by ARRAY lighting
- doggerconcepts ­– Design Beyond Vision for Salone del Mobile 2023
- Supertoys Supertoys – This is Not a Fruit Bowl in Milan

Read more about the different projects here.

additional information about the selection
The selection provides a broad picture of the qualities of the Dutch design field. In terms of content, this edition of the open call shows that an increasing number of proposals are responding to sustainability with, for example, rewaste, upcycling or circular design being taken as the starting point. For instance, Agne Kucerenkaite uses pigment obtained from upcycled botanical and metal waste for her Ignorance is Bliss collection and is presenting a carpet, ceramic tiles and porcelain tableware at the Salone. With I=FE, Studio Bruno Szenk presents the results of his research into the material landscape of the Salone del Mobile and raises questions about the impact of the festival and personal responsibility as a participant. The designers of Novel Grey are presenting International Impact: special wall tiles made of durable aesthetic concrete.

Two presentations on societal and social issues bring an important message that can contribute to awareness in design. Social Label designs customized work for people who are distanced from the employment market and presents the project BELONGING, a modern fairytale with the aim of connecting people through design. Designers Simon Dogger and Boey Wang present Design Beyond Vision: a multi-sensory installation in which visitors are guided by means of sound, smell, touch and sight. In this way, the designers want to emphasize the importance of equality in the design field.

Also notable are the innovative applications of technology in several projects. The New Raw presents with WIP a series of panels that function as room dividers, and seating designed using 3D-sculpted recycled plastic. Designer Pierluigi Pompeii, in collaboration with acoustic engineer Adam Foxwell, has developed VOCUM: a series of ceramic sound speakers that delivers hi-fi audio for various sound applications.

Finally, the added value of a collective presentation is seen in the three selected group exhibitions. During the Italy: A New Collective Landscape group exhibition at the ADI Design Museum, social designer Francesca Tambussi shows a proposal for a new supermarket run by consumers, The Hyperburgers Manifesto. Designer collective Envisions aims to inspire and encourage the furniture industry to adopt sustainable materials and production techniques with Rē. And Basketclub collective, which is formed by makers interested in crafts, presents a retrospective exhibition and publication to reach out to external parties in a more targeted way.

locations
The selected projects will be presented at different locations in Milan. Two selected projects were invited by BASE Milano, a collective active in multiple creative disciplines and focused on developing an inclusive ecosystem. BASE invites designers to design a more conscious and sustainable future together. Five selected projects can be seen this edition in the Isola district where the following core values apply: rethink, regenerate and restore. The aim is to give extra exposure to presentations that focus on sustainable design. In addition, projects can be seen at Palazzo dei Gioreconsulti where Masterly has a location, Satellite, Palazzo Litta, ADI design museum and in Alcova.

assessment and budget
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 Dutch creative industries.

The degree to which the presentations represent the breadth and diversity of the Dutch design field was also taken into account by the advisory committee in its assessment. The assessment took the form of a tender: a number of proposals were preferred to the other submissions. The budget of € 60,000 allowed grants to be awarded to 9 positively assessed applications. The remaining 9 positively assessed applications received grants with additional budget from the International Events Programme 2023.