OPEN CALL from kültüř gemma! fellow and artist, Natalia Gurova

A kültüř gemma! fellow and artist, Natalia Gurova, is looking for partners to work on a project in the frameworks of the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2022. 

Natalia Gurova about the project: “I want to talk to people about their way of dealing with different sorts of limitations (financial, institutional, social, political) and find a hint or a good metaphor for how it could be expressed in an object. I will offer my knowledge, curiosity, and artistic approach to navigate these uneasy topics. I want to provide participants to work on everyday objects that inhabit our surroundings and are meant to make life easier. I’m talking about furniture: chair, bed, table, shelf, vase, rug, blanket, frame, storage system, cups, plates. All of them are relatively simple and sometimes unnoticeable but, on the other hand, emotionally charged and keep traces of the identity of their owner. Things and objects have a matter of class, but also a matter of personal aesthetic taste and cultural heritage.”

The project for Vienna Design Week 2022 will deal with the questions of identity and design, limitation of resources, cultural and historical background, accessibility, and ability to become part of formal and informal structures.

Natalia wants to reach out to people in different migrant communities interested in design who would like to develop furniture samples together with Natalia and the VDW, reflecting on resources, accessibility, identity, value, and functionality.

The Open Call is open to people who identify as a person with a migrant background. You don’t need to be an artist or designer to participate in the project. Engagement, time, and critical thinking are required here. 

The project will have three parts. The preparation will include several meetings to get to know each other and planning, which will take place in July and August. The second part will involve construction and the exhibition during the Vienna Design Week from 16th to 25th of September. The reflective and final phase will be booked for October – December.

Compensation 

All the production costs of your work will be covered and at the end your work will be exhibited at VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2022. Additionally, by sharing her fellowship, Natalia will be able to pay you a small honorary.

How to apply

  1. Fill out the form here https://forms.gle/TEP1skNjPGvF8P5u8
  1. Send Natalia an email by the 25th of July with
  2. 2 sketches of idea you would like to make

To know more about Natalia's work, please visit the website www.gurovan.com and IG https://www.instagram.com/nataly_gurova/ 

If you have any questions, please reach Natalia out via email natalagurova@gmail.com