On Friday 23 October, loyal DDW visitor and Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Ingrid van Engelshoven, paid a virtual visit to Dutch Design Week (DDW) 2020.
The minister was virtually welcomed by Martijn Paulen, director of Dutch Design Foundation. As he is currently in quarantine because of his wife and son who tested positive for corona, he called from his garden shed. and told about the transformation to a fully virtual design festival. What were the physical plans for a corona-proof festival? And what does the digital festival look like now?
The minister was given a tour of the digital world of DDW and was guided through one of the 500+ 3D Viewing Rooms the online festival has to offer. This was followed by several conversations with designers such as Mitchell Jacobs (creative director Studio Tast), Nienke Hoogvliet (Studio Nienke Hoogvliet), Floris Schoonderbeek (Studio Floris Schoonderbeek), Nina Rodenburg (industrial designer and part of Design United expo), Frederike Top (course director Product Design, Willem de Kooning Academy) and Evy Deelen (student, Willem de Kooning Academy).
Topics that were covered during the conversation included education and design in times of corona, as well as funding for projects at the crossroads of design and science.
Check out the full visit in the video below (Dutch only)!