By Danielle Arets
Yesterday evening at the MU gallery in Eindhoven during the Create out Loud talks, a handful of inspiring people gathered to share their stories relating to sustainability, food, and design. Having read the description, I was curious but delicately sceptical. You see, I’m a graduating student at the Design Academy, and I don’t think I only speak for myself when I say that as creative individuals we often question our validity and legitimacy when faced with real issues. People tell us and tell others that as creative people, we think outside the box, or inside the box, or whichever side of the box you’re meant to be in at any given point, giving us a unique role in various collaborations. Having been soaking up a lot of the energy and enthusiasm of the Dutch Design Week, last night’s talk was the catalyst for a realisation, and I think a validation, that I’m in the right field, and that indeed, we play a curious cocktail of interesting roles, but primarily that of the communicator.
Trying to keep abreast of what’s happening around me locally and globally, a fear that I can share personally about the number of catastrophes in the world is simply related to scale. There are about seven billion people in the world, and what that means is that any process or action, because it’s happening en masse, has an exponential impact on our surroundings. By that same logic, that also means that the local, seemingly small bottom up initiatives started by the speakers at MU last night and other like them, like us, also add up to create an impact. That doesn’t always mean, as I learned last night, that we need to take a particular stance, because sometimes it discourages people from engaging in open discussions, when all we want to do is share someone’s story.
The projects that were introduced last night were in various scales, and various foci, but the terms that spoke to me the loudest related to communication and perspective: co-creation, collaboration, social discussions, broadening understanding about roles, preparing stakeholders for change. Whether you want to create a production from waste, introduce seemingly foreign or opposing stakeholders, learn from and simultaneously teach locals, or simply share a message over a steak, there’s a role for the creative folk, and it’s not to be underestimated (and it won’t be by me, anymore).
Emma Luceck, student Design Academy Eindhoven
--
With Arne Hendriks (curator Age of Wonderland, HIVOS/Baltan Laboratories), Ahadi Katera & Achmad Fadillah (ontwerpers Age of Wonderland), Pim van Baarsen (SuperLocal), Judith Zengers (ZLTO, Agri meets Design) and others.