Design Without Borders exhibition in Vienna The selection exhibited in Vienna consists of part of the 2022 Design Without Borders selection and material from previous years’ exhibitions, including works by a total of 76 artists from 14 countries.

The 19-year-old Budapest exhibition and event series is being put up outside the Hungarian capital for  the second time following an exhibition in Bratislava. This independent project, realised without any institutional backing, has undergone huge development and has now become one of the major design and all-arts events of the region.

After the Vienna exhibition, the DWB 20th anniversary exhibition series continues in Budapest and Bratislava. The main sponsor of the Vienna and Bratislava exhibitions is the International Visegrad Fund.

The name Design Without Borders refers to the project’s internationality, regional dialogue, European unity, focusing on the interoperability between different art forms and themes, and dialogue between generations. The organisers’ express intention is to present the broad interpretation possibilities of  design: by broadening the concept, they place creative approach and innovation in the centre.

The exhibition features mass-produced pieces, small-batch furniture and accessories, prototypes, experimental pieces, unique works on the border between design and fine art, fine art works, contemporary  jewellery, object photos, and projects dealing with social, ecological, and even gastro-etymological  topics.

Traditionally, there are several topical sections at the Budapest exhibition, and visitors in Vienna can see an extract of these.

A significant unit of the exhibition is the presentation of the DWB VLOG, comprising 154 short films. The video series was created following the 2020 Budapest exhibition to replace the Bratislava and Vienna exhibitions planned for 2021 and cancelled due to Covid. It was internationally premiered in cooperation  with Dezeen.

Since 2022 was the International Year of Glass, a representative selection was showcased at the Budapest exhibition, of which a narrow section is presented in Vienna.

As part of the series presenting contemporary jewellery designers, an international and Hungarian selection is created every year, where besides the works of key creators, the jewellery of emerging designers and university students is also put on display.

In 2018, object photographers were given a special role in the exhibition. As a taster, the works of 6 object photographers are also included in the exhibition.

Initiated in 2014 by textile designer Szilvia Szigeti, the TEXHIBITION project is organically connected to the exhibition and is intended to promote connection and cooperation between manufacturers and designers.

Design Without Borders – Reflections will celebrate the work of world-famous composer György Ligeti,  born 100 years ago, in the FUGA Budapest Center of Architecture from15 October to 26 November 2023 with the exhibition of sound objects. One of the most significant parts of the exhibition is the  textile series made for Musica Ricercata, György Ligeti’s 11-movement piano cycle. Guests can see a  highlight video and 2 pieces of the series.

Founding curators of the exhibition: Interior designer Tamás Radnóti and textile designer Szilvia Szigeti. Both graduated from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and were fellows at the Akademie  Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart. Szigeti was a member of the board of trustees of the Akademie Schloss  Solitude from 2012 to 2020. During the course of their career as designers they participated in several  domestic and international exhibitions and received numerous professional awards for their activities. Among others, they won the Hungarian Design Award, the Design Management Award and the Ferenczy Noémi Award. They jointly established Unikát Összművészeti Stúdió Bt. and the Eventuell Gallery in 1994; and besides the exhibitions organised in this creative workshop, they have organised  nearly 200 Hungarian and international events. They have jointly organised madeinhungary since 2004,  which focuses on Hungarian designers; MeeD since 2012, which focuses on international artists; and the  Design Without Borders exhibitions and all-arts event series since 2014. Over the years they have  worked with around 4,000 artists.

Texts by Gabriella Rothmann

Our project partners are:
– Budapesti Történeti Múzeum / Budapest History Museum
– Collegium Hungaricum Vienna
– Góbi Dance Company
– VŠVU / AFAD, Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava
– The Gallery of Art in Legnica
– The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow
– Łódź Art Center
– Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Architecture Institute
– Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Design Institute
– Resonance Gallery
– Slovak Union of Visual Arts
– Technical university in Zvolen , Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology / Department of furniture and interior design
– Vienna Design Office

Visegrad Fund partners are:
– Budapesti Történeti Múzeum / Budapest History Museum – btm.hu
The BTM-Kiscelli Museum has been our partner since 2014; it is the venue of the DWB exhibition in Budapest (with full infrastructure). The Museum is involved in the organisation and PR tasks.
– Collegium Hungaricum Vienna – culture.hu/hu/wien
CH will provide the venue with all the infrastructure and provide accommodation for technicians and curators. CH will promote the exhibitions on CH’s website.
– Durch duo – durchduo.cz
Durch Duo has participated several times in the Design Without Borders exhibition’s textile project. This time they will again be the creators of the TEXHIBITION thematic project. Additionally, they will be actively involved in selecting the Czech exhibitors, promoting the event, and will deliver a presentation on the professional day.
– Góbi Dance Company – gobirita.hu
The Rita Góbi Dance Company is one of our most important and longest-standing partners and we have been working together regularly since 2009.
In order to reinforce the all-arts feature, the exhibition has been complemented by a rich series of sister-art programmes for years. As a 15-year-old tradition, dancer Rita Góbi “dances life” into the exhibitions to Dávid Szegő’s drum solo during the vernissage of the Design Without Borders exhibitions in Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava, bringing the objects to life.
– VŠVU / AFAD, Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava
AFAD has been our partner since 2018. They participate in selecting the students for the exhibitions in Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava, contact exhibitors, organise the transport of Slovak exhibitors’ works to Vienna, and provide accommodation for the technicians in the university’s guest rooms during the Bratislava exhibition. They promote the exhibitions on the university website, participate in the international meeting / online professional day in Budapest.
– The Gallery of Art in Legnica – silver.legnica.eu
The gallery has been our partner since 2020; it participates in selecting the Polish jewellery designers, maintains contact with designers and organizers, promotes the event, participates in the international meeting / online professional day in Budapest.
– The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow – asp.krakow.pl
ASP Krakow, our newest partner, will take part with a selection of the students’ works in the Design Without Borders exhibition. It participates in selecting the designers, maintains contact with designers and organizers, promotes the event, participates in the international meeting / online professional day in Budapest.
– Łódź Art Center – lodzdesign.com
The Lodz Design Festival (LDF) has been our partner since 2016. We jointly select 60% of the Polish exhibitors from the winners of the LDF festival’s “make me” / “must have” competitions. LDF is a sponsor of one of the Design Without Borders Awards. The winner is selected at the DWB exhibition in Budapest and invited to exhibit at next year’s LDF exhibition. LDF’s Director Michal Piernikowski will deliver a presentation at our professional day in Budapest, and will open the Bratislava exhibition.
– Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Architecture Institute – mome.hu
– Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Design Institute – mome.hu
MOME has been our partner since 2014, it participates in selecting the students for the exhibitions in Budapest and Bratislava, and contacts the exhibitors. It promotes the exhibitions on the Department’s website, and participates in the international meeting / online professional day in Budapest.
– Resonance Gallery – galerie-resonance.cz
The Resonance Gallery from Prague has been our partner since 2019. The gallery participates in selecting the Czech contemporary jewellery designers. The Budapest exhibition will present the works of the gallery’s artists as a separate entity. Gallery director Petr Vogel will give a lecture and a guided tour.
– Slovak Union of Visual Arts 
The SVU-Umelka Gallery is one of the most important contemporary art centres in Bratislava and has been our partner since 2019. We have had significant joint projects, such as the DWB VLOG, and in spring 2023 we successfully co-organised the 1st DWB Bratislava exhibition, which will also include the Design Without Borders exhibition in the autumn programme of the 2023 Vienna Design Week. In the framework of the DWB 20th anniversary exhibition series, continuing the tradition we started, we are planning a second exhibition in Bratislava in the summer of 2024, presenting the current selection, taking advantage of the high summer season and an international audience in Bratislava. In addition to cultural promotion, the exhibition would also be promoted on international tourism websites, which would again significantly expand and promote the DWB project.
– University of West Bohemia, Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art – fdu.zcu.cz/cs/
FDU – LSFDA has been our partner since 2018, it participates in selecting the students for the exhibitions in Budapest and Bratislava, and contacts exhibitors. It promotes the exhibitions on the Department’s website.
– Technical university in Zvolen , Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology / Department of furniture and interior design – df.tuzvo.sk/en/faculty-wood-sciences-and-technology
TUZVO has been our partner since 2019. It participates in selecting the students for the exhibitions in Budapest and Bratislava, and contacts the exhibitors. It promotes the exhibitions on the Department’s website, delivers a presentation at the professional day in Budapest, and promotes the event on its website and social media pages.
– Vienna Design Office – viennadesignweek.at
DWB will be held at Collegium Hungaricum as an official programme of the Vienna Design Week. DWB’s debut in Vienna is a significant step forward in the history of the exhibition, significantly expanding the network’s international outreach, generating many new visitors and opportunities for V4 designers. DWB will be featured in the official VDW programme, press material and press conference, as well as in the guided tours programme.

DESIGN WITHOUT BORDERS

14 countries, 76 creators, a broad interpretation of design, interoperability between genres and themes in one exhibition.

A representative selection of the material of the 19-year-old Design Without Borders (DWB) exhibition, held annually in Budapest, will be on show at the Collegium Hungaricum in Vienna.
DWB focuses on interoperability between genres and themes, dialogue between regions, a broad interpretation of design, and interoperability between individual art forms.
The exhibition presents the works of furniture, textile, glass and jewellery designers, a total of 76 creators from 14 countries.
This independent project, realised without any institutional backing, has developed into one of the region’s major design and all-arts events.
Founding curators: designers Szilvia Szigeti and Tamás Radnóti

Venue: Collegium Hungaricum, Hollandstraße 4, 1020 Vienna,
Duration: 22.9.- 5.10.
22 Sep – 1 Oct – 10:00 – 19:00 Opening hours: 10:00 – 19:00,
2 Oct – 5 Oct – 10:00 – 18:00 by registration at anmeldung@chwien.at
curatorial presence / guided tour: 17:00-19:00

SPECIAL PROGRAMS
– 25.9. 17:00
Reception with a toast and dance performance, meeting with artists and curators.

Welcome speech: Dr. Márton Méhes, Director of the Collegium Hungaricum Vienna
Opening speech: Reinhard Backhausen, leading expert on the circular economy in Austria, textile expert with 40 years of practical experience. He is the owner of “Reinhard Backhausen textile & circular consulting”, which focuses on business development, marketing, strategy and implementation of the circular economy. He is Vice President of the Austrian Trade Association ÖGV (Austrian Trade Federation) and advisor to the Circular Economy Forum Austria.

Dance performance
Rita Góbi (dance)
Dávid Szegő (drums)
Róza Radnóti (piano)

– 27.09. 17:00
Traces of actions. Why are we cooking?
Presentation by Árpád Dobriban with tasting
Registration: until 23.09.2023 at dobriban@me.com.
A contribution of €15 towards the cost is required.
Registration is valid by bank transfer only