Training your imagination! Looking at familiar objects with new eyes. In this era of profound changes, it is necessary to observe the world around us in a different way, exploring alternative possibilities of viewing the natural or artificial environment that we experience every day; in this context, even our relationship with objects can be rethought, training our senses for a new type of interaction. Zaven, Cut Cut Cut Developed exclusively on Instagram, Graft is organized through an international Open Call that asks participants – professional designers or design enthusiast – to make “grafts” between two or more objects, in order to respond to the urgencies and needs of a new contemporary life. Peter Marigold, FORMcard tripod What kind of objects will we really need, tomorrow and in the near future? Graft intends to obtain from the objects – from those we use with a specific function as well as from those with whom we have a purely affective or contemplative relationship – an updated performance to fit the times we are experiencing. Roberto Sironi, Kernel Can we give objects a different meaning from what we commonly assign them? Can we associate them with a different utility or a new symbolic power in response to a changed framework of needs? Graft is an exercise of transformation, or of hybridization; a new combination of two or more existing objects, with the aim of generating another one, derived from a “graft” operation. Graft is a project through which to assemble existing objects, characterized by a specific function or not, with the aim of creating useful artefacts to produce new awareness and knowledge. Greem Jeong, Fare la scarpetta Graft ask you to design, not later June 17th, a device of the invention; to imagine an object resulting from the combination of others, which derives its identity from a reassignment of the specific characters of value, form, function, the meaning of the original objects; to devise a new cultural device. IN Residence and say hi to_ invite well-known international design talents to post their works also with the aim of giving an example to the participants in the Open Call. Among the designers involved: Wendy Andreu, Martino Gamper, Kwangho Lee, Jorge Penades, Sophie Rowley, Roberto Sironi and Zaven. The projects resulting from the “grafting” operations will be posted through a single Instagram post, which includes: – a title; – a short text illustrating the intentions of the project (in English, maximum 300 characters including spaces); – two images of the resulting object on a white background; – any other images you wish to add (with drawings, collages, …). Your “graft” project will be posted on Instagram: – with tags: @inresidence and @sayhito_ – and with the hashtag: #GraftDesign IN Residence IN Residence is a project dedicated to contemporary design, which carries out didactic-training activities, supports and promotes creative talent, using Design Thinking as a tool for concrete cultural innovation and, therefore, for social innovation. The action of IN Residence produces a series of thematic workshops, a program of residences for designers, a sequence of exhibitions and a collection of books. IN Residence is a project conceived and curated by Barbara Brondi & Marco Rainò and produced by Associazione Culturale IN Residence Design. say hi to_ say hi to_ is first and foremost a community of likeminded creatives internationally. We celebrate and look to showcase the best rising talent in the realms of furniture and interior design, the visual arts and creative entrepreneurship. Using our media outlet we look to learn from the masters, shed light on the stars of tomorrow and facilitate creative collaboration within our community. say hi to_ is founded and directed by Kristen de la Vallière, Art Director, Fine Art Curator and Design Consultant from New York who lives and works in Paris.
