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WE'RE AFTER THE SOURCE, THE
HOMEGROWN MUST-HAVE ACROSS
THE DISCIPLINES
There's a collective
murmur going on about
this light tip of the African
continent. Early adopters
are setting their cool
compasses on South
Africa and declaring it the
next big thing. Li
Edelkoort and Sir Terence
say they'd move here if
they were younger.
But trends can be fast
burning and if they're not
monitored usually end in
some kind of wasteland. If
South Africa wants longterm
global status then
this upsurge in interest
has to become something
lasting, tangible and
beneficial to our economy
and the rest of the world.
There's a growing
awareness that creativity
could become one of our
strongest currencies. The
corporation controlled 1st
world is hungry for fresh
ideas, new stories, new
paradigms - just look at
some of the trends
towards small business,
adventure holidays,
organic food and, more to
the point, creativity.
London's Creative
Industries are the second
highest contributor to the
city's annual output. It's
not surprising that Ken
Livingstone has good
reason to think that 'the
next decades may be the
years of designers,
publishers, artists...'.
South Africa's
amalgamated influences,
penchant for creative
solutions and relatively
unsullied cultural melting
pot mean fresh
perspectives, fresh ideas;
that close-to-source stuff
that makes creativity
happen. Our Creative
Industries - craft, décor,
film, graphics, jewellery
and fashion, to name a
few sectors - can become
a must-have global
resource. We have what
the globe wants.
The International Design
Indaba has always placed
creativity above
commodities as a driving
force for the local
economy. Now the biggest
design conference in the
southern hemisphere, it
provides a platform for
skill sharing between
global players and local
creatives. That's the
inspiration for already
established creatives
sorted to a degree (watch
this space), so they can go
back to their boards, run
the global collective
through a local filter and
come up with something
relevant to their own
experience. But there're
other factors, like
education and economic
evidence to account for,
which is why The
International Design
Indaba is now, ten years
on, something of a design
institution. There's the
conference and the fringe
- the mag, the workshop
series and the newest
recruit - the inaugural
Design Indaba Expo in
February 2004.
The Design Indaba Expo
is not only an event; it's
both an ambassadorial
gathering of South African
creative product and a
vehicle to improve local
consumers' design savvy
and accessibility. Running
alongside The
International Design
Indaba (open to the public
and delegates though), it'll
provide hard evidence
that our creatives are
capable of coming up with
the goods and that the
goods can do good for our
economy - the benefit
after inspiration if you
will. So it's all talk all
action at the Cape Town
Convention Centre in
February. Call it a gallery
for the industry
showcasing the finest in
South African creative
concepts and products. So
much more than
shopping, it's design in
action, more than the eyes
can see, the ideas realm,
things that make you
pulse and ponder. We're
after the source, the
homegrown must-have
across the disciplines
that's globally competitive
and locally unique.
Expo entrants also have
access to a piece of
international flavour in the
form of a traveling world
exhibition and some of the
best of Design Indaba -
work by Oliviero Toscani,
Javier Mariscal, Garth
Walker, Luba Lukova and
then some.
The aim is to give the
most influential
international buyers a
creative clout that'll
encourage export and to
create discerning
consumers through
exposure to the principles
and products of design
excellence. Discerning
consumers demand
quality, evolution and
innovation, they form a
critical mass with design
on the brain. Think the
Italian Everyman in
threads everyone lusts
after or the humble
Stockholm caf with aching
design cred - they're the
products of consciousness.
And design consciousness
is our indaba.
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