Premièred in 2012 as a platform to help connect design with business and to encourage greater design thinking by and acceptance of the value of design for industry, and as a sort of supporting fringe event to envelop and accompany the iF Design Award ceremony following the decision to host the event in the Bavarian capital, Munich Creative Business Week has developed over the years into a very interesting event which, although still largely promotional in character, does from time to time venture into territory other design festivals rarely reach.
Underscoring Kathrin Böhm, Antje Schiffers and Wapke Feenstra's observation that discourses on urban environments are more common than on rural communities, the thematic focus for Munich Creative Business Week 2015 is "Metropolitan Ideas" - so urban planning, urban mobility, urban healthcare et al - and in addition to a series of presentations, films and lectures, a central component of the "Metropolitan Ideas" programme is the exhibition HIT THE FUTURE – Metropolitan Design. Curated by Sarah Dorkenwald from the Bavarian regional design agency bayern design and Munich based Studio Satellit a.k.a Alexandra Weigand, HIT THE FUTURE – Metropolitan Design promises to present inter-disciplinary solutions for sustainable urban development and features contributions from, amongst others, Studio Formafantasma, Justin McGuirk, Julia Lohmann and Berlin based design studio Shapes in Play.
The second thematic focus of Munich Creative Business Week 2015 is partner country Denmark and in addition to a series of presentations in the Munich flagships of key Danish manufacturers such as Fritz Hansen or BoConcept, the Denmark programme also features a very interesting sounding talk on "national stereotypes and marketing strategies" from Dr. Erla Hallsteinsdóttir.
Beyond the programmatic foci Munich Creative Business Week 2015 also features a wide and varied exhibition programme; the majority of which fall into the in-store, promotional type, including nice sounding showcases at Leica, Alessi, Vitsoe, Nymphenburg and Rosenthal; but which also features a few very promising sounding "independent" shows including Design for all Generations from the Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern, Czech Design Works at the Tschechisches Zentrum, Tools for A Break: Korean Crafts and Design at the Keum Art-Projects and a further opportunity to view the aed neuland 2013 exhibition - and a timeous opportunity at that with entries for 2015 aed neuland young designer competition needing to be submitted by March 31st!
In addition Munich Creative Business Week 2015 also promises a special programme aimed at "Start-ups", a series of conferences, talks, podium discussions, workshops and tours: in which context, for all in Munich on Saturday February 28th don't miss the bus tour with Nils Holger Moormann and Nitzan Cohen, a ninety minute tour during which the pair will discuss creativity in Munich and their own personal associations with the city. Munich is the city where Nils Holger Moormann had his first youthful design experiences, and given his comments on the contemporary German furniture industry in our recent interview with him, we're sure he'll also have something to say about "creative business" and for all the current balance of power and influence between "creative" and "business"
Munich Creative Business Week 2015 runs from Saturday February 21st until Sunday March 1st at various locations throughout Munich.
Full details can be found at www.mcbw.de
