By Jay Forte, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In its sixth year, the Semana Design Rio (Rio Design Week) returned yesterday, September 13th and will run until Sunday, September 16th. The event brings together important names in design and creative industries to participate in a series of exhibitions, workshops and discussions.
This year the event is held at MAM Rio (Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro) for the first time – one of the most important cultural institutions in the country. In past years the event was hosted by the Jockey Club and Píer Mauá.
All the activities are free, and in addition to lectures with renowned professionals and successful market cases, the public is invited to participate in discussions with designers on current topics and also learn in workshops on various techniques and craft processes.
This edition of Rio Design Week is organized by O Globo and Casa e Jardim (Home and Garden) magazine, and sponsored by Sebrae and CasaShopping, WeWork and Millenium Suzuki with a partnership of ABEDESIGN, GNT and Cícero, Dream Factory productions and Rádio Globo.
André Valle, GLOBO’s special projects manager, explained, “The event is a great showcase for both professionals in the industry and the brands that join us. There are many options for commercial and content partnerships that we can offer.”
Gustavo Mota, founder and CEO of We Do Logos shared in an O Globo report, “One of the topics most discussed in this issue will be technology. The startups are there to facilitate the creation of solutions in the world of design. We will show, for example, the service of hiring a designer via digital platform.”
In addition to the lectures and talks, the public can see attractions such as the Rio Múltiplos Contemporary Art Fair, which features some 200 paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs by young artists and well-known names such as Andy Warhol, Vik Muniz, Beatriz Milhazes and Jeff Koons. The works will be on display and on sale.
Since its launch in 2013, Rio Design Week has attracted more than 100,000 visitors according to its organizers. Among the speakers this year are Ricardo Leite, founding partner of Crama, Leo Eyer, CEO of Boldº, and graffiti artists Toz, Igor SRC and Marcelo Ment.
For Marcelo Ment, who has graffiti and street art in neighborhoods like Humaitá, Botafogo and Lapa, the event will be an excellent chance to show the public the relationship between graffiti, culture and design.
Ment shared “Graffiti is one of the reflections of our time. Today, any great metropolis has graffiti. We will show the [art] as a visual language that has been inserted in different segments, including design. We have images today in product design, decoration etc.”
Other spaces that deserve attention are the Design Rio Market, which gathers twelve exhibitors of furniture, utensils, products and jewelry; Rio+Design, which exhibits works by important names in Brazilian design, such as Ricardo Graham (The Cabinetmaker); and the Sebrae Space, totally dedicated to pieces from the Oitis55 group, a collective formed by fifty designers from 21 companies in Rio.
What: 6th Annual Semana Design Rio (Rio Design Week)
When: Thursday, September 13th – Saturday, September 15th from 2PM to 10PM, and Sunday, September 16th from 2PM to 8:30 PM
Where: MAM – Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, Av. Infante Dom Henrique, 85 – Flamengo Park
Entrance: Free