MDDÜ: more than 8,000 visitors to the exhibition presenting Hungarian contemporary art at the Milan Design Week

More than 8,000 visitors took part in Budapest Select – A VVoven View, an exhibition presenting Hungarian contemporary art, during Milan Design Week, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (MDDÜ) told MTI on Tuesday.

According to their announcement, there was a great international interest in the exhibition presenting the works of twenty-four Hungarian designers, industrial and visual artists. The installation consisting of floating sheets of paper, the 65 selected design objects and the accompanying events based on the curatorial concept focused on the artisanal, technological and cultural connections of contemporary Hungarian design.

The Hungarian section was reported on by several international media, including Dezeen, Designboom, Interni, Archup and Living magazines, as well as by representatives of prestigious professional organisations such as the Bocconi University in Milan, the French Design Institute Le French Design by VIA or the European Design Institute IED – Istituto Europeo di Design.

The Italian Design Week attracts around half a million visitors to Milan each year, including design and architecture students, manufacturers, professional decision-makers and representatives of the international media. For the fourth time, the MDDÜ provided an opportunity for Hungarian contemporary designers to make their debut at one of the world's most prestigious design events between 7 and 13 April.

The Budapest Select – VVoven View exhibition was held in the 5VIE district, one of the most important venues of the programme series.

– quotes Zsófia Jakab, Chief Executive Officer of the MDDÜ, Ministerial Commissioner for the Development and Sectoral Coordination of the Creative Industry.

The agency also selected the exhibiting designers, the architects' office that envisioned the space and the curators who carried out the object selection through an open competition, with the help of a jury of professional actors with an international perspective. The Hungarian appearance was realized along a complex, multi-layered concept in the formulation of the URBA architectural studio, curators Angéla Góg and Barna Erdész.

The exhibition focused on the contemporary interpretation of Hungarian creativity and the dialogue between craftsmanship, technology and sustainability. The central installation of the space, the structure of floating white sheets of paper, built on the principle of generative design, examined the dynamics between artificial intelligence and human creative work. The massive paper rolls, some 27 million characters long, reflected on the abundance of AI-generated data recording conversations between the designer and AI, but stressed that while AI is a good tool for the designer, the real process of creation is only a human decision. The materials used for the exhibition are all recycled or recyclable, thus emphasizing the sustainability efforts of the project.

A ‘vvoven’ In addition to referring to traditional handicraft techniques, the concept also symbolised the intertwining of different cultural perspectives, technological solutions and design operations, they pointed out in the Communication.

The approach behind the selection was reflected in the programme of accompanying events, and the programmes related to the exhibition also aimed to bring closer to the visitors the way of thinking of Hungarian design and to present the cultural and craft traditions that are reflected in the technology and concept of the exhibited artworks. For example, illustrator Juli Jásdi brought the emblematic cityscape of Budapest closer to the audience with a large-scale, community installation, while ethnographer and folk artist Beatrix Jókainé Gombosi revived the artifact-making practices related to the Easter period through the traditional techniques of egg painting. In addition, contemporary music programs, folk dance shows and Hungarian wine tastings awaited the guests.