Oui Design is a multifaceted program developed by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy to foster creative exchange in design between France and the U.S. By partnering with individuals and institutions, Oui Design supports and initiates creative collaborations with designers, artisans, curators, inventors, researchers, teachers, students, and manufacturers. It also brings French designers to the U.S. to exhibit their work, and to engage with industry professionals and the public.During NYCxDESIGN, New York City’s official city-wide celebration of design (May 3-17), Oui Design will present a series of projects at WantedDesign exploring the intersection of design and savoir- faire, new production processes, and the impact of design on our daily lives. The projects presented at WantedDesign Brooklyn reflect WantedDesign “French-New Yorker” co-founders Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat commitment as Oui Design’s primary partner. The program will include the Transatlantic Creative Exchange, showcasing new glass, upholstery, and aluminum works and prototypes by French-American designer- manufacturer teams. Celebrated French designer matali crasset will present We trust in wood, an exhibition of a seriesof objects that came out of a collaboration with local artisans during a residency at Vent des Forêts rural art center in Meuse, France.
Finally, Matt Sindall, designer and teacher at École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle- Les Ateliers (ENSCI-Les Ateliers), one of France’s most prestigious design schools, will lead a workshop for design students entitled Thinking and Making: Exploring Materials with a Notion of Playfulness. From May 13-16, students from six international design schools: ENSCI- Les Ateliers (France), Université Aalto (Finland), Centro (Mexico), Pratt Institute (United States), Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera (El Salvador), and Art Center Collegeof Design (United States), will work together and present a final project to a jury. Simultaneously, WantedDesign Manhattan will present a French pavilion with manufacturers organized in partnership with Business France. In addition, the entrance to WantedDesign Manhattan will feature a site- specific collage project by French graphic artists Antoine+Manuel, commissioned by Visual Magnetics. On May 11 at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, YMER&MALTA Director Valérie Maltaverne will give a presentation on the philosophy and process of her French design studio, which she conceives of as a research lab. On May 13 and 20 at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), curator Alexandra Midal will present Designers Screenings, a series of films and videos by designers. Oui Design is supported by Institut français, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, FACE Foundation, the Florence Gould Foundation and Air France. Read the complete press kit here