Among the regional German design awards the Bavarian Design Award is particularly notable being as it is an award exclusively for young design talents.
Inaugurated in 1987 the Bayerischer Staatspreis für Nachwuchsdesigner is in addition, and as far as we are aware, the only design award anywhere to also include a category dedicated to Gestaltendes Handwerk - Applied Crafts. The inclusion of the category is invariably a subtle nod to not only the strength of traditional crafts in Bavaria but also the strength of the small and medium sized business in Bavaria, a business form that relies heavily on co-operations with specialist trades.
Regardless of why it exists we find it important that it does as it highlights not only the differences between design and craft but also the very close relationship between the two and the way one feeds off the other.
The recipient of the second Gestaltendes Handwerk Award in 1988 was a certain Konstantin Grcic, with Grcic's former assistant Stefan Diez receiving an Honorary Recognition in 2002. Of late jewellery designers/goldsmiths have tended to be the recipients including laterally Munich based, Melbourne born Laura Deakin in 2010 and Carina Chitsaz-Shoshtary in 2012
The 2014 competition saw two prizes awarded: one to Akademie der Bildenden Künste München graduate Barbara Schrobenhauser for the project "Eine Zeitlang" which comprises a series of paper storage jars crafted to resemble stone, and the second award to smow blog alumni and DMY Berlin 2013 Young Talent winner Philipp Weber for his "Strange Symphony" project in which he has developed a new form of glass blowing tube featuring three individually controllable tubes and which thus allows the glass blower a world of new possibilities.
Aside from getting to catch up with Philipp again what was particularly pleasing about his win was the fact that the jury member who presented the award was Nils Holger Moormann, who praised the experimental nature of the project, the playfulness with which Philipp approached and developed it.... and also how neat and orderly Phillip's application was. Which is a nice little tip for anyone entering a competition where Nils Holger Moormann is a judge. Or indeed planning submitting a design proposal to Moormann.
In addition to the Applied Crafts category the Bayerischer Staatspreis für Nachwuchsdesigner 2014 was awarded in the categories Industrial Design, Communication Design, Fashion Design, Textile Design and Interior Designer, the winner in that category being Markus Kurkowski with his concept caravan "Beyond", a project which of course also won an aed neuland 2013 award.
Winning an award such as the Bayerischer Staatspreis für Nachwuchsdesigner doesn't mean instant success, fame and fortune. Even Konstantin Grcic took 8 years from winning his award until his first products with Authentics and SCP.
But it does mean that you're probably heading along the correct path.
We'll have a little more on the one or the other award winner real soon, but for now, the winners.
Congratulations to all!!
And should you happen to be in Munich in the coming weeks an exhibition featuring winners, honorary recognitions and nominees can be viewed in the foyer of the BMW Museum, Am Olympiapark 2, 808009 München until Sunday March 15th.
Bayerischer Staatspreis für Nachwuchsdesigner 2014: Winners
Industrial Design:
Lisa Reichardt - MIMA, a minimal invasive observation tool for beekeepers
Ivo Wawer - TIO Diving system
Communication Design:
Marina Widmann - Späher, New perspectives in visual perception
Interior Design:
Markus Kurkowski - Beyond, caravan concept
Fashion Design:
Sara Kadesch - Conquest of nature
Textile Design:
Nicole Kiersz - Reduce Material Waste
Applied Crafts:
Barbara Schrobenhauser - Eine Zeitlang
Philipp Weber - Strange Symphony
