Symposium | Hard Werken

On the occasion of the publication of Hard Werken: One for All, Valiz and the Willem de Kooning Academy will organize a symposium on the interdisciplinary and hybrid field between design, autonomous art and cultural entrepreneurship.

When: 5 April 2018, 18:30–21:00 CET
Where: Willem de Kooning Academy
Address: Wijnhaven 61, Rotterdam
What: Symposium on the interdisciplinary field between design and autonomous work
With: Ian Horton and Bettina Furnée, Catelijne van Middelkoop (Strange Attractors), Rens Muis (75B), Florian Cramer (Willem de Kooning Academy) and others
Language: English
Entrance: Free, but please register via this link
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To celebrate the publication of Hard Werken: One for All — the first major book on the illustrious Rotterdam based design studio Hard Werken (1979-1994) — the Willem de Kooning Academy and Valiz will organize a symposium on their contribution to fields of design and culture. Hard Werken's anarchic work, smattering high with low culture and running contrary to modernist currents of the time, characterized this group as a brash and elusive phenomenon. Combining commissioned work with autonomous projects, mixing and juxtaposing the languages of design and fine art and connecting different cultural networks, they occupied a unique place in the cultural landscape, both in Rotterdam and in an international context. This symposium takes their DIY-mentality and their interdisciplinary position between design, authorship and cultural entrepreneurship as a starting point and asks what contemporary designers and artists can learn from the legacy of Hard Werken.

• graphic design
• do-it-yourself
• collaboration