Close-up: VEEM

What can you expect?

VEEM is a special building. It starts with a long ramp that transforms the entrance into something out of the ordinary. This reveals the usual function: the monumental building is used as a parking garage throughout the year. This raw context fits perfectly with the presentations you can find there. During DDW, young design talent will be shown and various academies will be set up. You can find many different interprations of craftsmanship, new material experiments and possibilities for the future, as well as young talented designers.

Programme DDW19

The Dutch Invertuals collective, which is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year, made use of the unique architecture and transformed the location into an industrial exhibition space. It gives the site an ambience of renewal and experimentation, which suits the content of VEEM. The presentations give you a unique glimpse into the future. The designers present new materials and craft experiments and reflect on how this will affect our daily lives. It is an inspiring mix of individual designers, studios, collectives and creative entrepreneurs. You will also find many (inter)national design programmes and cultural organisations, as well as Dutch Design Awards. The presentations challenge the visitors to think through concepts, experimental research and tangible products. A place where everything is possible.

VEEM

Schools have a prominent role in VEEM. You can find representatives of Dutch educational institues, such as Creative Craftsman and KABK (with their exhibition Working Hard or Hardly Working), but also a selection of the best young Polish designers, students from the Royal College of Art, Burg Giebiechenstein, Aalto University, Central Saint Martins, and Swedish School of Textiles.

Want to discover the materials of the future? If so, then VEEM is the place to be. VEEM presents a vision of the future in which craftsmen work together with nature for the creation of products and architecture. Here, you can find memory shaped materials by Re:Flex, natural dyes from food waste by Kaiku Living Color, and plant based glitters by United Matters alumni Elissa Brunato. Additionaly, there is work by Emma van der Leest, who grows leather from bacterias, as well as bio textile experiments by Textile Lab Waag.

You will also find various design labels and well-known brands. For example, there is a presentation by Vlisco&co about African fashion talents, design duo Lennart & Laurens present their new collection of interior objects, and there is the collaboration between Frame x Bolon. Furthermore, you can visit the presentations of Senscommon, Indian ceramics by Tiipoi and an exhibition with multifunctional objects called Ambigious Objects. Explore the works of design duo RiveRoshan in their exhibition, Form Editions. French designer Sophia Taillet shows her glass furniture, and Supertoys Supertoys and Pim Top joined forces resulting in the cheerful presentation of playful home objects.

Craft is associated with the past but VEEM shows that it is also essential today and in the future. With the interesting exhibition HOW&WOW, Crafts Council NL shows how various designers work with craft, from ceramics to textiles. Foreign crafts can be seen at In/Perfection by AICEP Portugal and Czech Craft is here, by the Prague Academy of arts. There is also the presentation of the Zeeuws Museum, presenting a modern day uniform based on historic workwear.

Also, an absolute highlight in VEEM is the retrospective exhibition of Dutch Design Awards. Here the work of all nominees is shown and the public can also vote on her favourite design for the public award. This prize will be awarded next Friday at Cafe CMYK on the Ketelhuisplein. Will we see you there?