“Even though we are experiencing such unprecedented and challenging times, I am empowered by what we have witnessed through this initiative - Critically Homemade, there is still a positive and collaborative energy amongst the HK design scene but a much more determined will to support each other.
Of the designers we have seen, many have taken the time to reflect and react, and taken a step back with their projects, looking at their creations from a holistic point of view. In a way, it is almost like this process has been utilized as one that can be therapeutic - to be more mindful of themselves and others, whilst reflecting on our cultural heritage, city development, and the larger context of urban and nature’s relationship.
When I step back and look at this moment – it’s been amazing to see younger mentees who have been part of the foundations NGO work, to established designers and architects come aboard and involved, the mix of HK based designers to global community involved, display a diversity, brilliant and emotional clustering of humanity and designer’s struggles both personal to professional innovative works, and react to the unprecedented times, and still GENEROUSLY participate in this initiative, is both humbling and inspiring.
Through this micro-initiative we hope to bring its inspirational community together to BUILD Resilience, reassess values, and inspire all and wider public through making and crafting.
“DESIGN TRUST: Critically Homemade” was created to inspire collaboration within the design community in Hong Kong and beyond during the pandemic and to offer solutions to pressing social and environmental needs through creative means and critical making.
Through the creation of innovative homemade prototypes, the initiative hopes to benefit the wider community at large and to build resilience and sustainability for our future.Through this micro-initiative, Design Trust hopes to encourage giving back to the community in ways that allow for connection amongst the global crisis.
The initiative invited Design Trust grantees, fellows, advisors, Design Trust Futures Studio (DTFS) mentors and mentees, as well as its extended local and international community, to create and prototype an object (sized 20 x 20 x 20cm max) at home as a three week self -challenge. Now, “DESIGN TRUST: Critically Homemade” has brought together over 130 designers in 76 participating groups from the creative community of Hong Kong and beyond crafting objects responding to the curatorial brief.
Representing a diverse cross-section of Hong Kong’s design community and our international collaborators and friends, “DESIGN TRUST: Critically Homemade” involves established designers to young creatives: DTFS mentor Michael Young, Seed grantees and mentees Florian Wegenast & Christine Lew, to Rony Chan and Ire Tsui working together on a prototype, as well as friends of Design Trust such as UUendy Lau and prominent artists Peter Yuill and feng shui designer Thierry Chow to design veterans such as Alan Chan andanothermountainman (Stanley Wong) to friends in Beijing- Frank Chou -industrial designer to Fiona Lau of FFIXXED STUDIOS in Shanghai. Sustainability is a strong theme, coming through with and architects Kristof Crolla and his colleagues involved in bamboo constructions, to contributions from HK based COLLECTIVE Studio to interactive designer Henry Chu here in Hong Kong participating.
It has been wonderful also to re-connect with designers from cities around the world have also made critical contributions to “DESIGN TRUST: Critically Homemade” - Solid Objectives - Idenburg Liu (SO-IL) (New York, USA), Savinee Buranasilapin (Bangkok, Thailand), Hugh Davies (Melbourne, Australia), Yanki Lee in collaboration with Pascal Anson (London, UK), Maria Roszkowska and Nicolas Maigret (Paris, France), Adam Hudec (Germany), Aurélien Barbry (New York, USA) working with Constant HK, Evelyn Teploff-Mugii (Kanazawa, Japan), People’s Architecture Office (Beijing, China) and Raphaël Monnier (Yangon, Myanmar) to well-known curator Troy Conrad Therrien based in New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum working with his students on a work.
This showcases the breadth of the design community in participating in this programme and the message of hopeful collaborations during time of social distancing.
The desire to make things with our hands is universal and a significant human expression. While some handicrafts are means of survival, making objects with our hands serves as a creative release. Restricted by the necessary social distancing during an unprecedented pandemic, many designers have expressed a need to connect, collaborate and create. It’s been months of questioning, thinking, and understanding our city. The role of our NGO is, in a small way, to activate positivity, add levity, and be creative under constraints, for our collective wellbeing has been inspiring to be a part of.”
Marisa Yiu, Co-founder, executive director of Design Trust