EVENTS

London Design Festival

Saturday 19 September –  Sunday 27 September
Throughout the V&A

The V&A is delighted to welcome this year's London Design Festival. As the festival hub we will be hosting events and activities on the theme of design throughout the Festival week, as well as showcasing site-specific displays created by leading design organisations. See the practicality and spectacle of Established & Sons' 'Wrong Woods / Bench Press' (V&A 2009); explore the design possibilities of recycled materials in Arts-Co's installation 'Wasted'; and walk through the 'Chair Arch' commissioned by Wallpaper* magazine.Take part in 'In Praise of Shadows', a celebration of light, shadow and the light bulb; see world famous designers' interpretations of the city in 'London Posters'; and follow 'Asterion', an
interactive video walk through the Museum's corridors.

Click here for the  Events Programme .

The London Design Festival is an annual celebration of London as the 'creative capital of the world', click here for more information  about the London Design Festival.

 

Displays

Future Fashion Now
ASTERION
A Higher Ambition: Owen Jones (1809-1874)
Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design
In Praise of Shadows
The London Poster Project
Wallpaper* Chair Arch
Wasted
Wrong Woods / Bench Press (V&A 2009)
Crafts Council Showcase
Elegant Accomplishments
'All the better to see you with, my dear’

 

Future Fashion Now

New Design from the Royal College of Art
Gallery Display
Until 31 January 2010
Fashion, Room 40
10.00-17.45 (21.45 Fridays)
Read more  

Gallery Talk
Tuesday 22 September
 Fashion, Room 40
16.00–16.45

See young designers' new work and hear about fashion design at this talk looking at the current display of womenswear, menswear, footwear and accessories by a selection of graduates from the 2008 Royal College of Art Fashion MA. For over sixty years, the RCA has prepared aspiring designers for careers in the fashion industry. Many graduates have gone on to work in fashion houses such as Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, Chloé, Dior and Burberry. Others such as Ossie Clark and, more recently, Erdem Moralioglu have launched their own labels.
Free, drop-in

 

ASTERION

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Leighton Corridor, & throughout the Museum
10.00–17.45
Thursday 24 September
Promenade Performance
14.00–17.00

Collect your iPod from the Information Centre in Room 20, or download at home from iTune's and experience 'Asterion' a 15 minute interactive video walk in the V&A that can be followed on an iPod. Based on a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, this tour brings drama and excitement to the museum corridors, and casts a new and intriguing light over familiar spaces. On Thursday 24 September see a promenade performance perfomed by Seven Sisters Group at various
points throughout the tour.
Free, a returnable deposit is required for use of iPods
Click here to download from iTunes
Commissioned by the V&A and supported by University College Falmouth and Arts Council England

 

A Higher Ambition: Owen Jones (1809-1874)

Gallery Display
Until 22 November 2009
Prints & Drawings, Julie and Robert Breckman Gallery, Room 90
Paintings, Room 88a
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Fridays)
Read more

Gallery Talk
Thursday 24 September
Prints & Drawings, Julie and Robert Breckman Gallery, Room 90 Paintings, Room 88a
16.00–16.45

This talk will look at the work of Owen Jones, one of the most influential design theorists of the 19th century, and a key figure in the foundation of the V&A. 200 years after his birth, Jones’s theories on flat patterning and ornament continue to resonate. Looking to the Islamic
world for inspiration, his courageous design principles became the teaching frameworks for the Government School of Design. These bold theories on the use of colour, geometry and abstraction formed the basis for Jones’s seminal publication, The Grammar of Ornament, a design sourcebook that is still in print 150 years later.
Free, drop-in

 

Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design

Exhibition
Until 18 October 2009
Porter Gallery
10.00–17.45

At a time of heightened interest in works of so-called 'design art', made in small editions for the collector's market, 'Telling Tales' features work by a generation of internationally regarded designers. Read more

Gallery Talk
Thursday 24 September
Porter Gallery
12.00–12.45

Led by exhibition curator Gareth Williams, this talk will look at the creation of the exhibition and explore the narrative potential of objects.
Free, drop-in

 

In Praise of Shadows

Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 September
Jones Gallery, Rooms 2 to 4
10.00–17.45

Inspired by the EU directive to phase out low efficiency light bulbs by 2012, this display explores the designer’s response to lighting, shadow and efficiency. Drawing together works by designers from across the EU, this project brings humour and beauty to the challenge of energy and light efficiency, and explores the potential of alternative energy sources.This display is commissioned by the European Union National Institute for Culture (EUNIC) and curated by Jane Withers and includes  work by Drift, Pieke Bergmans and also Loop.pH, with films by French eco activists Clan du Neon.
Free, drop-in

 

The London Poster Project

Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 September
Next to Cloakroom B, Level 0
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Friday)

Leading graphic designers and typographers celebrate London as the creative capital of the world. Taking on the idea that the poster is one of the oldest and still one of the most powerful communication mediums, this project challenged 20 designers to produce an effective poster, exploring the theme of design and the city, in only two colours.Curated by Domenic Lippa, partner at Pentagram, with Sir John Sorrell, Chairman of the London Design Festival. Designers include: Angus Hyland, Jon Ellery, Henrik Kubel, Derek Birdsall, Tony Brook, Tom Hingston, Andy Altmann, Fernando Gutteriez, Morag Myerscough, Mike Dempsey, Alan Kitching, Frith Kerr, Alan Aboud,
Damon Murray, Mason Wells, Michael Wolff and Quentin Newark.

Designer Talk
Thursday 24 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
18.00–20.00

Abbott Miller will present his ongoing collaborations and will discuss his upcoming book Open Book: Design and Content. Abbott Miller is a partner in the multi-disciplinary design firm Pentagram. His pioneering books, exhibitions, and environmental graphics engage performance, fashion, cultural history, architecture and art. Abbott will present his ongoing collaborations with artists, curators, museums and institutions and will discuss his upcoming publication Open Book: Design and Content.
Free entry, tickets available from the Sackler Centre information point. Alternatively reserve your place by emailing pentagram@londondesignfestival.com  

 

Wallpaper* Chair Arch

Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 September
John Madejski Garden
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Friday)

Commissioned by Wallpaper* this striking installation provides a stunning focal point to highlight London’s moment as the creative capital of the world. Wallpaper* took inspiration from the first Chair Arch, constructed in 1877, to celebrate Queen Victoria’s visit to High Wycombe. See how leading designer Martino Gamper interprets this Victorian phenomenon of making arches from objects used in local industry to create a Chair Arch for London.
Free, drop-in

 

Wasted

Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 September
Tunnel Entrance
10.00–17.45 

Commissioned by Arts Co, this installation looks at the urgent questions posed by today’s annual landfill deposits of 99 million tonnes. Constructed solely from reclaimed materials by Ian Douglas Jones, the work explores the ways in which new and inspirational products may be created from waste materials in a dramatic and beautiful way. Alongside this piece E&K Arts showcase a range of products designed by artists from material otherwise destined for landfill; from condemned fire-hose and racing sails to waste coffee sacks and de-commissioned parachutes.
Free, drop-in

 

Wrong Woods / Bench Press (V&A 2009)

Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 September
Grand Entrance
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Friday)

See an exciting combination of practicality and creative spectacle. Located in the Grand Entrance, these unique three-tier benches provide public seating for visitors and exemplify modern design. The pieces are constructed of American tulipwood, reclaimed from the infamous Established & Sons start of season show in Milan during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile. The display is curated by Established & Sons Creative Director, Sebastian Wrong, and supported by the American Hardwood Export Council.
Free, drop-in

 

Crafts Council Showcase

Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 September
Room 220, Sackler Centre
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Friday)

Explore the individual value that craft can bring to the work of architects, landscape architects, urban designers and other practitioners of the built environment.This display of ten top British designer-makers showcases how an understanding and comprehensive knowledge of materials informs and enables this British talent to respond directly to the specific requirements of their business clients offering unique results.
Free, drop-in

 

Elegant Accomplishments

The Art of Noh Performance
Monday 7 September 2009 – Sunday 7 March 2010 
Japan, the Toshiba Gallery, Room 45
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Friday)

Learn more abut Noh the classical theatre of Japan, developed in the 14th century by the father and son actors Kan'ami and Zeami.Under the patronage of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the Zen principles of restraint, understatement, economy of movement and frugality of expression became incorporated into the performance.This display showcases the V&A’s superb collection of robes, masks, accessories and graphic works relating to the art of Noh and explores the design features of both traditional and contemporary Noh performance, including prints and masks by a contemporary maker
that have never been on display before.
Free, drop-in

 

'All the better to see you with, my dear’

Fairytales and Enchantments
Until 28 February 2010
Sackler Centre, Main Entrance
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Friday)

Be enchanted by a theme that is captivating to both children and adults alike: fairy tales. Some form of fairy or folk tales exists in all cultures and make compelling subjects for the decorative arts. In this display a selection of objects from around the world and across several centuries demonstrate the hold that fairy tales and magic have on our collective imaginations.
Read more

 

 

Events Programme

Friday 18 September 10.30–17.30

Monday 21 September 08.00–17.00

Tuesday 22 September 08.00–17.00

Wednesday 23 September 08.00–17.30

Thursday 24 September 08.00–20.30

Friday 25 September 08.00–22.00

 

Friday 18 September

Furniture Futures

Biennial Design Symposium
Lecture Theatre
10.30–17.30

Hear some of the most influential contemporary designers, practitioners and commentators associated with furniture making today. This symposium will examine the growing interest in furniture as an expression of contemporary culture that crosses the boundaries between art, craftsmanship and design. The day will cover three main themes: Creative Directions; Changing Practice and Promotion. Speakers include Sebastian Bergne, Ben Evans, Löic Le Gaillard, Amanda Levete, Alexander Payne, and Gareth Williams.
£45, £36 concessions, £5 students
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Monday 21 September

 

FT / LDF – Business of Design Series

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
08.30–09.30 (breakfast served from 08.00)
Please use Exhibition Road Staff Entrance

Monday 21 September
Seminar 1 
Responses to the Recession

Explore how design-led companies are coping with the current
economic crisis in the first in a week long series of design & business
talks. Are tight-spending consumers now in charge or can big brands
still drive buying behaviour? Will the market polarise into a world of
ultra-luxury products and super-inexpensive ones? Hear professional
designers discuss strategies such as back-to-basics or diffusion lines, 
used in a downturn. Speakers include designer Rolf Sachs and Doreen
Lorenzo, CEO Frog Design.
£12, £10 concessions
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Moordesign – The Trunk Show

Monday 21 September
Art Studio, Sackler Centre
11.00–16.00

Take part in this creative event, part of Moordesign's salon presented by Creative Fruits. Share information and exchange knowledge with visual artists, designers, makers, writers, fashionistas and business owners in the Creative Industries.
Free, to register email moordesign@creativefruits.net

 

 

Lunchtime Designer Talks

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
13.00–14.00

Listen to this daily programme of talks exploring different aspects of design including displays installed as part of the London Design Festival: 'In Praise of Shadows', a project that explores light and energy; 'Wrong Woods/ Bench Press' (V&A 2009) installation by Established & Sons in the Grand Entrance and 'Wasted', in the
Tunnel Entrance.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211
More information

 

Monday 21 September
Wrong Woods / Bench Press (V&A 2009)

American Hardwood Association / Established & Sons discuss the collaboration that brought about the three-tier bench installation in the Grand Entrance.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

 

 

 

Comics Artist Residency and Craft Residency

Open Studios
Monday 21 &Thursday 24 September, 11.00–14.00
Friday 25 September, 13.00–16.00

Visit the Residency Studios in the Sackler Centre to meet comics artist Karen Rubins and Mary Butcher, contemporary basket maker, see their work in progress and find out about their practice. Two Residency Studios are open for anyone to visit. Museum Residents have special access to the Museum's vast collections for study and research which may inspire new ideas or help develop creative skills.

For more information about the Residency Programme including online blogs by current and previous Museum Residents visit vam.ac.uk/sacklercentre .

Karen Rubins draws comics set in many different locations and periods, from modern day England to sixteenth century Japan, and through a range of genres from surreal modern adventure, through to comedy and horror often experimenting with different media.
Read more

Mary Butcher uses natural materials, plastics, wire, strings, cardboard strips and paper to make containers and sculptures in a wide variety of scales and forms. The techniques she uses are both traditionally associated with UK and European basket making practice and ones which originate from across the world.
Read more

The Residency Programme is supported by grants from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Crafts Residency is supported by The Crafts Council
Free, drop-in

Designer Tours

Monday 21 September – Thursday 24 September
Sackler Centre Reception
15.00–15.30

Short, intimate opportunities to share an insight into a leading design figure's favourite spaces in the Museum, and objects that inspire them.
Free, tickets available from Sackler Centre Reception on the day
More information

 

Tuesday 22 September

FT / LDF – Business of Design Series

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
08.30–09.30 (breakfast served from 08.00)
Please use Exhibition Road Staff Entrance

Tuesday 22 September
Seminar 2
Responsible Design

Listen to executives and designers discuss both consumers' and companies' desires to make meaningful purchases and investments. 
Learn how professional designers have moved into eco-friendly
merchandise and social entrepreneurship ventures in developing
countries. Can you make a profit and make a difference? Speakers
include Oscar Pena, Head of Design, Phillips and ThomasBurgmarck,
Global Sustainability Manager, IKEA.
£12, £10 concessions
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Be Bold – Be GOLD

Rescaling Contemporary Crafts
Tuesday 22 – Thursday 24 September
Art Studio, Sackler Centre
11.00–15.00

Bring along your own object to be gold-leafed by students from the Royal College of Art’s Goldsmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery Department. See how they challenge popular perceptions of craft as the poor relation of design and demonstrate their different approaches to creating innovative and unusual objects. Explore the results in a special display and talk informally with them about their work and the design process.
Free, drop-in

 

Lunchtime Designer Talks

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
13.00–14.00

Listen to this daily programme of talks exploring different aspects of design including displays installed as part of the London Design Festival: 'In Praise of Shadows', a project that explores light and energy; 'Wrong Woods/ Bench Press' (V&A 2009) installation by Established & Sons in the Grand Entrance and 'Wasted', in the
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211
More information

Tuesday 22 September
A New Kind of Urban Life: Designing the Chinese Future

With more than 75 million urban migrants predicted in China over the next ten years, this session invites two very different architects to discuss how an opportunity for a new city life might be designed.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Designer Tours

Monday 21 September – Thursday 24 September
Sackler Centre Reception
15.00–15.30

Short, intimate opportunities to share an insight into a leading design figure's favourite spaces in the Museum, and objects that inspire them.
Free, tickets available from Sackler Centre Reception on the day
More information

Future Fashion Now

New Design from the Royal College of Art
Gallery Display
Until 31 January 2010
Fashion, Room 40
10.00-17.45 (21.45 Fridays)
Read more  

Gallery Talk
Tuesday 22 September
 Fashion, Room 40
16.00–16.45

See young designers' new work and hear about fashion design at this talk looking at the current display of womenswear, menswear, footwear and accessories by a selection of graduates from the 2008 Royal College of Art Fashion MA. For over sixty years, the RCA has prepared aspiring designers for careers in the fashion industry. Many graduates have gone on to work in fashion houses such as Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, Chloé, Dior and Burberry. Others such as Ossie Clark and, more recently, Erdem Moralioglu have launched their own labels.
Free, drop-in

 

Wednesday 23 September

 

FT / LDF – Business of Design Series

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
08.30–09.30 (breakfast served from 08.00)
Please use Exhibition Road Staff Entrance

Wednesday 23 September
Seminar 3
New Frontiers

Discover what the big emerging markets are in the design world and how local people are spearheading these trends and how certain cities and districts have become design hubs. Speakers include Maurizio
Ribotti, Managing Director, Design Partners and Aric Chen,100% Shanghai.
£12, £10 concessions
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Contemporary Stage Design

Between Memory & Innovation
Wednesday 23 September
Lecture Theatre
10.00–17.00

Celebrate the International Festival of Scenic Arts in this one-day event. Organised by The Scenographer magazine the day will include a series of talks and presentations on stage, costume and video design by world-class design practitioners and a performance. 
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211
www.scenic-fest.com

 

 

Be Bold – Be GOLD

Rescaling Contemporary Crafts
Tuesday 22 – Thursday 24 September
Art Studio, Sackler Centre
11.00–15.00

Bring along your own object to be gold-leafed by students from the Royal College of Art’s Goldsmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery Department. See how they challenge popular perceptions of craft as the poor relation of design and demonstrate their different approaches to creating innovative and unusual objects. Explore the results in a special display and talk informally with them about their work and the design process.
Free, drop-in

 

Lunchtime Designer Talks

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
13.00–14.00

Listen to this daily programme of talks exploring different aspects of design including displays installed as part of the London Design Festival: 'In Praise of Shadows', a project that explores light and energy; 'Wrong Woods/ Bench Press' (V&A 2009) installation by Established & Sons in the Grand Entrance and 'Wasted', in the
Tunnel Entrance.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211
More information

 

Wednesday 23 September
In Praise of Shadows

Together with the accompanying display, this talk provides a platform to discuss new European lighting design, regulation changes and shifting user requirements.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

 

Designer Tours

Monday 21 September – Thursday 24 September
Sackler Centre Reception
15.00–15.30

Short, intimate opportunities to share an insight into a leading design figure's favourite spaces in the Museum, and objects that inspire them.
Free, tickets available from Sackler Centre Reception on the day
More information

 

Thursday 24 September

FT / LDF – Business of Design Series

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
08.30–09.30 (breakfast served from 08.00)
Please use Exhibition Road Staff Entrance

Thursday 24 September
Seminar 4
Emerging Architecture

Using the boom in high profile architectural projects from New York to London, Dubai to Shanghai in the prosperous 1990s and early 2000s as a starting point this seminar asks will architects adapt in today’s
economic climate of budget cuts? Speakers include David Glover from
Arup; Ricky Burdett , Professor in Urbanism and Architecture, LSE; and
James Sellar, Shard Development.
£12, £10 concessions
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Comics Artist Residency and Craft Residency

Open Studios
Monday 21 & Thursday 24 September
11.00–14.00

Visit the Residency Studios in the Sackler Centre to meet comics artist Karen Rubins and Mary Butcher, contemporary basket maker, see their work in progress and find out about their practice. Two Residency Studios are open for anyone to visit. Museum Residents have special access to the Museum's vast collections for study and research which may inspire new ideas or help develop creative skills.

For more information about the Residency Programme including online blogs by current and previous Museum Residents visit
www.vam.ac.uk/sacklercentre .

Karen Rubins draws comics set in many different locations and periods, from modern day England to sixteenth century Japan, and through a range of genres from surreal modern adventure, through to comedy and horror often experimenting with different media.
Read more

Mary Butcher uses natural materials, plastics, wire, strings, cardboard strips and paper to make containers and sculptures in a wide variety of scales and forms. The techniques she uses are both traditionally associated with UK and European basket making practice and ones which originate from across the world.
Read more

The Residency Programme is supported by grants from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Crafts Residency is supported by The Crafts Council
Free, drop-in

 

Be Bold – Be GOLD

Rescaling Contemporary Crafts
Tuesday 22 – Thursday 24 September
Art Studio, Sackler Centre
11.00–15.00

Bring along your own object to be gold-leafed by students from the Royal College of Art’s Goldsmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery Department. See how they challenge popular perceptions of craft as the poor relation of design and demonstrate their different approaches to creating innovative and unusual objects. Explore the results in a special display and talk informally with them about their work and the design process.
Free, drop-in

 

Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design

Exhibition
Until 18 October 2009
Porter Gallery
10.00–17.45

At a time of heightened interest in works of so-called 'design art', made in small editions for the collector's market, 'Telling Tales' features work by a generation of internationally regarded designers. Read more  

Gallery Talk
Thursday 24 September
Porter Gallery
12.00–12.45

Led by exhibition curator Gareth Williams, this talk will look at the creation of the exhibition and explore the narrative potential of objects.
Free, drop-in

 

Lunchtime Designer Talks

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
13.00–14.00

Listen to this daily programme of talks exploring different aspects of design including displays installed as part of the London Design Festival: 'In Praise of Shadows', a project that explores light and energy; 'Wrong Woods/ Bench Press' (V&A 2009) installation by Established & Sons in the Grand Entrance and 'Wasted', in the
Tunnel Entrance.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211
More information

Thursday 24 September
Guitars & Graphics

Leading graphic designer Michael Johnson, of Johnson Banks, embarks on a whistle-stop tour of the changing face of graphic art and guitar music over the last century, and explores the possible links between the two, whilst accompanying himself on his own guitar.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

ASTERION

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Leighton Corridor, & throughout the Museum
10.00–17.45
Thursday 24 September
Promenade Performance
14.00–17.00

Collect your iPod from the Information Centre in Room 20, or download at home from iTune's and experience 'Asterion' a 15 minute interactive video walk in the V&A that can be followed on an iPod. Based on a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, this tour brings drama and excitement to the museum corridors, and casts a new and intriguing light over familiar spaces. On Thursday 24 September see a promenade performance perfomed by Seven Sisters Group at various
points throughout the tour.
Free, a returnable deposit is required for use of iPods
Click here to download from iTunes
Commissioned by the V&A and supported by University College Falmouth and Arts Council England

 

Designer Tours

Monday 21 September – Thursday 24 September
Sackler Centre Reception
15.00–15.30

Short, intimate opportunities to share an insight into a leading design figure's favourite spaces in the Museum, and objects that inspire them.
Free, tickets available from Sackler Centre Reception on the day
More information

 

A Higher Ambition: Owen Jones (1809-1874)

Gallery Display
Until 22 November 2009
Prints & Drawings, Julie and Robert Breckman Gallery, Room 90
Paintings, Room 88a
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Fridays)
Read more

Gallery Talk
Thursday 24 September
Prints & Drawings, Julie and Robert Breckman Gallery, Room 90 Paintings, Room 88a
16.00–16.45

This talk will look at the work of Owen Jones, one of the most influential design theorists of the 19th century, and a key figure in the foundation of the V&A. 200 years after his birth, Jones’s theories on flat patterning and ornament continue to resonate. Looking to the Islamic
world for inspiration, his courageous design principles became the teaching frameworks for the Government School of Design. These bold theories on the use of colour, geometry and abstraction formed the basis for Jones’s seminal publication, The Grammar of Ornament, a design sourcebook that is still in print 150 years later.
Free, drop-in

 

The London Poster Project

saturday 19 – Sunday 27 September
Next to Cloakroom B, Level 0
10.00–17.45 (21.45 Friday)

Leading graphic designers and typographers celebrate London as the creative capital of the world. Taking on the idea that the poster is one of the oldest and still one of the most powerful communication mediums, this project challenged 20 designers to produce an effective poster, exploring the theme of design and the city, in only two colours.Curated by Domenic Lippa, partner at Pentagram, with Sir John Sorrell, Chairman of the London Design Festival. Designers include: Angus Hyland, Jon Ellery, Henrik Kubel, Derek Birdsall, Tony Brook, Tom Hingston, Andy Altmann, Fernando Gutteriez, Morag Myerscough, Mike Dempsey, Alan Kitching, Frith Kerr, Alan Aboud,
Damon Murray, Mason Wells, Michael Wolff and Quentin Newark.

Designer Talk
Thursday 24 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
18.30–20.00

Explore links and themes in the 20 poster designs by leading graphic designers and typographers to celebrate London as the creative capital of the world. This talk accompanies The London Poster Project display, curated by Domenic Lippa.
Free, contact Pentagram 020 7229 3477

 

Yves Behar – Talking Design

Thursday 24 September
Lecture Theatre
19.00–20.00

Yves Behar is a world-leader in industrial design and has received numerous awards including the Time Magazine Best Invention, and the US National Design Award. A founder of Fuse Project, the San Francisco-based design and branding firm established in 1999, he works in diverse areas as fashion, lifestyle, sports and technology, for clients such as Apple, Birkenstock, BMW's MINI, haasprojekt, Herman Miller, HBF, Hewlett Packard, Hussein Chalayan, Microsoft, Nike,
OLPC, Philou, PUIG and Toshiba. He is the chief industrial designer of
OLPC's XO laptop (One Laptop Per Child), and he designed the
highly acclaimed Bluetooth headset, Jawbone. Behar will be in
conversation with Alice Rawsthorn, design critic for the International
Herald Tribune, in another of the V&A's quarterly Talking Design series.
£8, £6 concessions
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Friday 25 September

FT / LDF – Business of Design Series

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
08.30–09.30 (breakfast served from 08.00)
Please use Exhibition Road Staff Entrance

Friday 25 September
Seminar 5
Design in Adversity

Important creative movements are often born in troubled times, this seminar will consider the important ideas and products that came out of previous downturns and speculate about what the current malaise
might inspire. Will designers use it as an opportunity to turn away
from commerce and companies become bolder?
Speakers include designers Tom Dixon and Jaime Hayón alongside
Alex Von Sloben, Director, Eiendhoven Design School and DeyanSudjic,
Director, Design Museum.
£12, £10 concessions
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Lunchtime Designer Talks

Monday 21 – Friday 25 September
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
13.00–14.00

Listen to this daily programme of talks exploring different aspects of design including displays installed as part of the London Design Festival: 'In Praise of Shadows', a project that explores light and energy; 'Wrong Woods/ Bench Press' (V&A 2009) installation by Established & Sons in the Grand Entrance and 'Wasted', in the
Tunnel Entrance.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211
More information

 

Friday 25 September
Wasted

This seminar accompanies the site specific installation 'Wasted' and explores the thinking and inspiration behind Ian Douglas Jones' and Arts Co's use of materials.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available on the day from Sackler Centre Reception or in advance by calling +44 (0)20 7942 2211
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comics Artist Residency and Craft Residency

Open Studios
Friday 25 September
13.00–16.00

Visit the Residency Studios in the Sackler Centre to meet comics artist Karen Rubins and Mary Butcher, contemporary basket maker, see their work in progress and find out about their practice. Two Residency Studios are open for anyone to visit. Museum Residents have special access to the Museum's vast collections for study and research which may inspire new ideas or help develop creative skills.

For more information about the Residency Programme including online blogs by current and previous Museum Residents visit
www.vam.ac.uk/sacklercentre .

Karen Rubins draws comics set in many different locations and periods, from modern day England to sixteenth century Japan, and through a range of genres from surreal modern adventure, through to comedy and horror often experimenting with different media.
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Mary Butcher uses natural materials, plastics, wire, strings, cardboard strips and paper to make containers and sculptures in a wide variety of scales and forms. The techniques she uses are both traditionally associated with UK and European basket making practice and ones which originate from across the world.
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The Residency Programme is supported by grants from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Crafts Residency is supported by The Crafts Council
Free, drop-in

 

Design Talk

Arts & Business 'Crafted' Talk
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
15.00–16.30

Free tickets available from sackler Centre reception on the day.
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