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The London Design Festival (#LDF23) is an annual event that celebrates the capital of the United Kingdom as an international center of design. Now up to its 21st edition, the event is ready to open its doors on September 16. Through September 24, London will come to life with over 300 events, including exhibitions, installations, and performances, making it an ideal platform for designers and businesspeople to meet, share their expertise, and show off their work. First staged in 2003 by John Sorrell and Ben Evans, the event has now been supporting Britain’s creative industry for two decades. Last year, the Festival celebrated its 20th birthday and attracted over 360 thousand visitors to the capital.
The nine-day event is also intended to be an invitation to new generations to make the move into the design world, in the belief that emerging talent is vital to the industry ecosystem in that it maximizes its economic potential while looking to its future needs. And it’s precisely emerging designers and new graduates, as well as non-profit organizations, that a new initiative for 2023 is chiefly aimed at. Named Launch Pad, the event intends to bring these people together to develop inclusive, truly accessible designs and architecture right from the start.
For all these reasons, after 21 editions, “the London Design Festival continues to provide an invaluable platform for the UK’s design community,” said Ben Evans, the current director of the event. “Over the past two decades, the festival has cemented London’s reputation as a global creative capital, while supporting designers at every level of their careers. The aim is, in fact, to make the whole sector ‘inclusive’ for every age group”.
Again in 2023, the Festival will occupy various boroughs across the city. This year there will be 13 of them, including Bankside Design District, Battersea Design District, Chelsea Design District, Greenwich Peninsula, and King Cross Design District.
The first, famous as the location of Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre, will explore the world of design through sustainability-focused activities, artisan exhibitions, workshops, and installations. Among them, the Tyre Collective will showcase its From Pollution to Products project, which saw designers, materials scientists, chemists, and engineers collaborating to develop ways to reuse old tires, which are a source of high quantities of pollutants.
As per tradition, four Design Medals have been awarded this year. The London Design Medal went to Hanif Kara, the Design Innovation Medal to Pooja Agrawal, the Emerging Design Medal to the POoR Collective, and the Lifetime Achievement Medal went to Magdalene Odundo.
With their innovative shapes and materials, sustainable approach, and complex analytical methods, Kara’s often pioneering projects are instantly recognizable. Agrawal was awarded for his ongoing work with local authorities to improve public architecture. The POoR Collective received recognition for its work with schools, young people, and communities in developing sensitivity towards their local areas, while Odundo received the career achievement award: “I have always been curious to discover why human beings make and surround themselves with objects that are not just utilitarian, but also give pleasure, have spiritual significance, and tell the stories of the people who made them”.
All images courtesy of London Design Festival
