IDW2023 Storm

Description

-invited workshop lead at the International Design Workshop Week, IDW2023 STORM hosted by the University of Antwerp in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp. In current times where extreme circumstances and polarization are hardening the social debate, designing for social emancipation, cohesion and sustainability can enable students to identify various ethical issues, frictions or social gaps. The international design workshop week aims to STORM through the minds of our students: exploring the power of the critical design approach for social inquiry and engagement through design. Traditionally, designers apply affirmative design approaches in the design process, providing answers and solutions to questions or design challenges, and thereby reinforcing the current situation rather than rejecting it. This is simply how we are trained to perform as ‘problem-solvers’ (and ‘solution-focused’). However, the aim of the international workshop week is to focus on ‘problem-finding’and explore the power of a critical design attitude: “[Critical design] rejects how things are now as being the only possibility, and provides a critique of the prevailing situation through designs that embody alternative social, cultural, technical or economic values.” “[Critical design] opens lines of inquiry as opposed to providing answers or solutions to questions or design problems.” “Critical Design uses speculative design proposals to challenge narrow assumptions, preconceptions and givens (…).” The workshop week is open to radical pedagogical experiences, which open the eyes, widen thinking and foster new encounters. It stimulates international and interdisciplinary exchange and offers an informal platform for discussing design education and its agency.

Period	13 Feb 2023 → 17 Feb 2023
Event type	Workshop
Location	Antwerp, BelgiumShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International