The Design Museum announces call for entries for the 2019 Designers in Residence programme, inviting designers and architects to respond to the theme COSMIC
Recent alumni of the programme include Asif Khan, Giles Miller, Bethan Laura Wood, Yuri Suzuki and Sarah van Gameren
The deadline for proposals is 09:00, Monday 11th February 2019
Theme
Today designers are engaged in shaping life at every scale, from the micro to the macro. At one end of the spectrum, they use gene editing software and synthetic biology to develop biological parts and systems. At the other end, designers also collaborate with scientists and engineers to address planetary scale problems, such as designing for the Anthropocene – or, indeed, inter-planetary ones, such as space travel.
The growing ambition to reach Mars – explored in the Design Museum upcoming Mars exhibition – has opened a debate about the human colonisation of untouched planets. This cosmic scale of activity brings design into contact with science, ecology and the supernatural, and raises questions about what it means to be human. There are issues of under-representation here, with movements like afro-futurism imagining a more inclusive future. Meanwhile, the use of astrology, crystals, and meditation highlight our spiritual desire to believe in something ‘bigger’ than ourselves.
Programme
Designers in Residence is a core part of the museum’s programme. It has two main aims: to provide designers in the early stages of their careers, time and space away from their regular environment, to develop their practice and produce new work; and to offer museum visitors an opportunity to engage with live design projects.
Following an open call the museum selects four designers working in different disciplines, to further develop their individual responses to the theme and brief. Successful residents will share the museum’s Designers in Residence Studio, which provides a place for the residents to work as well as a space to exhibit their finished projects.
Each resident is provided with a commissioning budget of £6,000, which goes directly towards producing the work that will be presented at the end of the residency. A bursary of £8,000 is also offered to support the development of their career and to fund their practice.
Download the documents here for full details of this year’s theme ‘Cosmic’ and details on how to submit a proposal.