SingaPlural returns for its fourth edition from 10 to 16 March 2015 at 99 Beach Road, to showcase the best design elements from the multi-faceted creative spectrum – advertising, architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, as well as interior, furniture, graphic and fashion design. Organised by the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) since 2012, SingaPlural 2015 is the anchor event of the Singapore Design Week by DesignSingapore Council.
The four objectives of SingaPlural 2015 are:
– to celebrate design holistically through a focus on the relationship between designers and manufacturers,
– to celebrate the local design scene in a global/Asian context,
– to display interconnectedness between design disciplines and
– to reach out and connect with people who are interested in design.
SingaPlural 2015 marks the curatorial collaboration between GOVT, an ad agency and PLUS Collaboratives, a design thinking studio. GOVT and PLUS approached the curation of SingaPlural with two distinctive starting points; the first to capture the public’s interest and the latter to understand context and to tighten content through structure, programme and people.
Themed ‘Process’, SingaPlural 2015 is a manifesto of creativity at its peak, celebrating the important elements of design beyond the end product. The aim with the theme is to create a more approachable and relatable SingaPlural for the masses – allowing them to immerse themselves in design in its most basic form and follow the train of thought in design.
Shaped around a set of pillars that streamlines the festival, SingaPlural 2015 features a total of 6 pillars, with Project X being a key pillar of the festival.
Pillar 1: Project X – Dot your ‘I’s and Cross your T’s
A collaborative project with the key expression of ‘Process’ where a single manufacturer is paired with selected designers of different fields to push the extent of the material and capabilities of the manufacturer to create a series of lifestyle products, which will be exhibited at SingaPlural. The process of creation starts early before the festival and is closely documented in video and photography.
In this project, Lamitak undertakes the role of the manufacturer and offers their host of expertise and resources as the playground for four designers’ interpretation and creations of the Lamitak material. Lamitak is a leading home-grown brand of pressured laminates with over a decade of experience in creating and perfecting proprietary designs, colours and textures. Lamitak is one of the first in the region to introduce exciting textures and bold patterns and has even pioneered its very own finish called DRI-MATT®.
Jansen Tan – Director of Product and Brand for Lamitak
The four designers participating in this festival pillar with Lamitak are Miun (an artist), In Merry Motion (a celebration + experience design studio), Tiffany Loy (a designer trained in industrial design and prototyping) and wynk (an interior design collaborative).
Miun
In Merry Motion
Tiffany Loy
Pillar 2: Design Installations – Connect the Dots
Design installations target at engaging the design and non-design affiliated audience in a conversation about the said theme. Undertaken by designers, makers, manufacturers, builders and design schools alike, a curated route through the design installations demonstrates different perspectives and voices, expanding the possibilities and mind-sets towards “Process”.
Pillar 3: Talks + Symposium – The Little Red Dot
Targeted at a design-centric audience, talks and symposiums discuss subjects of relevance to the design community and connect with the audience on different levels. A key focus of this pillar is the symposium organised by the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS), the Singapore Design Business Summit 2015, which is themed “Celebrating Our Design Journey” and invites pioneer designers to share their experiences.
Tours – Follow the Dots
Curated through the process journey of design, the tour participants will be led through designers’ studios where designers could share their work approaches and ideas, to manufacturers’ production facilities where prototyping and production take place, and finally to design retailers where creations are sold with a story. This experience accords participants a holistic view of the design industry.
Recognition – On the Dot
Through a collective showcase of design works created in year 2014, SingaPlural aims to recognise and celebrate design ideas of designers from all walks. Submitting to an open call, selected creations of designers and manufacturers will be curated into a showcase featuring a year’s trove of design works from Singapore.
Partnering Events – Dot by Dot
An inclusive festival, SingaPlural welcomes the affiliations of various partners. Capitalising on the design audience, SingaPlural invites different partners of the industry to participate in the celebration during SingaPlural as part of the larger Singapore Design Week.
Photos Courtesy of SingaPlural 2015