When we heard that the 2010 International Marianne Brandt Contest exhibition was going to be held in the Industrial Museum, Chemnitz, our first thought was: that's a bit harsh.
We know the city's fortunes haven't been the best since the end of the DDR - but to label the whole city as nothing more than a tourist attraction dedicated to artificially maintaining happier memories of times long since past....
Hardly fair.
It turns out that the Industrial Museum Chemnitz is actually a Museum in Chemnitz devoted to Industrial history.
Our mistake.
Held under the motto "The poetry of the functional" the 2010 Marianne Brandt Contest sought entries in the two "regular" categories - product design and photography - plus this years "guest" category "Light in public spaces"
And the organisers weren't disappointed - some 410 entries from 12 countries were submitted, a clear increase in comparison to 2007.
The exhibition in the Industrial Museum Chemnitz presents the prize winning entries plus a selection of further commended works - and thus allows both a nice overview of the submitted works plus the chance to assess the juries verdict in context of the other entries.
In addition to all the objects that one expects to see at such a show the International Marianne Brandt Contest 2010 exhibition has also some real gems of creativity. And a couple of old (smow)blog favourites can also be admired and adored.
We don't want to rain on any ones parade and so we'll keep our powder dry until next week when we'll present not only our review of the exhibition but also our report and photos from the awards ceremony.
We know that involves going to Chemnitz twice in two days, but.... what can you do.
