Cornwall Design Season is a festival of maverick thinking, making and doing. We asked respected people from the world of design and academia (Rick Stein and Kevin McCloud for example) to nominate ‘something from Cornwall that the world should know about’ – i.e: something that has changed something, be it a business, a town, a mentality, the county or perhaps even the world.
We received a fantastically diverse mix of nominations, some expected (Eden), some unexpected (titanium), some with amazing historical relevance (Trevithick’s engines) and some that we think will really astound (Engineered Arts).
To animate these stories in a way that inspires, entertains and educates we’ve appointed teams of local writers, designers and artists. Some of these stories will form a global online exhibition and 30 nominations will be exhibited in design pods (beautifully skinned shipping containers) at 15 expected and unexpected locations across Cornwall from February half term through to Easter 2011.
We’ve just launched a schools project with Richard Scott, from Richard Lander School. We’re inviting all key stage 3 & 4 design & technology pupils to get on board by designing their own container. The winning school will get their very own container in a public location and a budget to bring their story to life by working with a local designer.
Cornwall Design Season is being launched in the press on 10th February. Be sure to buy a copy of the West Briton, Cornish Guardian or The Cornishman and listen to the interviews with a wide variety of the people involved in the project on BBC Radio Cornwall at 3.30 pm the same day.
We’re looking for volunteers to steward our exhibitions. If you know anyone that is interested please ask him or her to contact us. All volunteers will get a limited edition Cornwall Design Season T-shirt designed by A-side and an invitation to our festival party.
We’re thrilled with the number of partners that have come on board the project as either a supporter or sponsor – including Tate St Ives, Falmouth Art Gallery, Wernick, Arts & Business, National Trust, A-side, Stranger, Truro Town Council, Falmouth Events Square Management, BBC Radio Cornwall, Fistral Beach, Truro Park and Ride, Cornwall & Devon Media and Eden Project to name a few.
A number of our partners are putting on events as part of the festival, including walks, talks and exhibitions. Our website (which will be going live at the end of the month) will have an interactive events section enabling people to see what is going on across the county and we’ll be sending out regular e-mail bulletins detailing these events.
We’d be delighted if you could put on an event as part of the festival – whether it’s a talk on design, a walk, a workshop, a competition or exhibiting a design related artefact that’s not normally on show. We’ve created a form so you can contact us with any event details. This is available to download from the Dott website:
http://www.dottcornwall.com/get-involved/opportunities keep updated on the project follow us on:
Twiiter: http://www.twitter.com/cds_2011: www.facebook.com (search for ‘Cornwall Design Season’)
Design is everywhere. This is our opportunity to show the world how Cornish influenced design can transform our culture, health, economy and environment. Join us to create the world’s first rural design festival and put Cornwall on a world stage.