Deadline: 10 March 3014
Open to: all persons 35 years of age and younger from the Balkan region and neighboring countries
Prize: promotion of the winners for one year in international exhibition tour; residency workshops and practical trainings in Zagreb, Belgrade and Skopje
Description
Young Balkan Designers is a regional talent platform dedicated to identifying, promoting and developing creative potentials of the Balkans in the field of conceptual and product design. The two-year program consists of the regional design competition (February – March, 2014), an international touring exhibition of the winning projects (May 2014 – February 2015), and a series of residency workshops and practical trainings around the region (March 2015 – February 2016), tailored for the final three winners of the project, pursued in cooperation with the leading regional design manufacturers.
As a result of the evolution of the project, two regional partner organizations are joining Mikser in organizing and managing the Young Balkan Designers project. Cooperation network among equal partners: Croatian Design Association, Public Room form Macedonia and Mikser organization from Serbia pose a fresh challenge for the project this year. Young Balkan Designers initiative aims at unifying regional design scene, bringing it closer to the international market, strengthening its creative potential by offering additional education and practice, while at the same time contributes to the restoration of multi-cultural cooperation in the Balkan region.
The Young Balkan Designers slogan for 2014: “EVERYDAY HEROES” emphasizes the power of simple, incremental changes in social behavior that designers can contribute to their community, collaborating with the locals, visioning and solving local problems and needs related to the economic crisis, limited resources, and the necessity for people to search for alternatives to inefficient public services. Competition Young Balkan Designers 2014 calls for more impactful design solutions that can serve as a catalyst for social innovation in everyday lives within local communities, and mobilizes designers to provide not only the final products, but to design tools, concepts and services that help communities and individuals to solve their own problems.
Eligibility
The competition is open to all persons aged 35 years and younger, from the following countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Turkey. Applicants may be individuals or groups of creators. Each applicant may submit more than one entry.
Prizes
Level 1: TOURING EXHIBITION “YOUNG BALKAN DESIGNERS”:
Ten best projects will be selected among the competition entries to participate in the Young Balkan Designers exhibition which will be on tour to all major regional design events and fairs including: D Day in Zagreb (25-29 May, 2014); Mikser Festival in Belgrade (3-8 June, 2014), One Design Week in Plovdiv (20–29 June, 2014); Skopje Design Week (September 2014); Klaster Festival in Podgorica (October, 2014); Tirana Design Week (October, 2014); Belgrade Furniture Fair (November, 2014), and many more.
Level 2: RESIDENCY WORKSHOPS AND PRACTICAL TRAINING PROGRAM:
Three best designers will be selected among exhibition participants to attend a series of residency workshops and practical trainings around the region (Zagreb, Belgrade, Skopje), pursued in cooperation with the leading regional design manufacturers throughout the period from March 2015 till February 2016.
Application
Applicants will be able to register and submit their projects by filling in a Young Balkan Designers form online until 10 March 2014 at 23.59.
Design concepts, products (furniture, lighting, interior elements, everyday objects, home accessories, stationary, aid products), urban services, recycled materials, fashion garments, etc. that offer innovative yet rational solutions to everyday problems. Criteria appreciated by the Jury: innovative features that enhance the quality of community life; ergonomics; rational production costs; use of materials available locally; environmentally friendly production process; significant social impact.
Interested candidates will find the application form at the bottom of the official webpage.
For further information and apply, please visit the official website.
