We did it again... With more than a week to go still, Design Indaba Conference from February 27 to 29, 2008, has sold out for the fourth year in a row.
“With higher interest rates and a slowing economy, it's great to still have a sell-out event! We've worked on fine-tuning this event for over 13 years, and it's wonderful to feel this valued by the global design community. If only we had a bigger auditorium in Cape Town!” said Deborah Weber, Design Indaba promotions manager.
To stem the ongoing demand for tickets to the Conference, Design Indaba has now opened the Young Designer’s Simulcast to over-25s. Offering a live broadcast from the main plenary session to a second auditorium, delegates older than 25 can now enjoy the foremost creative event in the country for the reduced price of R1500. Delegates can also buy a simulcast ticket and a year’s subscription to the award-winning Design Indaba magazine for R1645.
From Bill Moggridge, who designed the world’s first laptop, to the inimitable Paul D Miller, aka DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid, and South African Oona Scheepers, who has designed interiors for Porsche and Audi, the Design Indaba Conference 2008 brings together some of the most influential creative minds in the world.
Shunji Yamanaka, acclaimed designer of humanoid robots; Ilse Crawford, founding editor of Elle Décor; Ivan Chermayeff, responsible for the NBC and Mobil logos; and Li Edelkoort, the world’s most renowned trend forecaster, lead a stellar cast of 37 industry heavyweights. Adding to the mix, Marije Vogelzang is set to seduce with her food installations, Jonathan Levien and Nipa Doshi to enchant with their Indian-European mashups, and Maxim Velcovsky to undoubtedly provoke with his post-socialist porcelain.
Driving critical debate around local creative industries, South African fashion designers Amanda Laird Cherry, Gavin Rajah and Nkhensani Nkosi will participate in a multimedia panel interview interrogating the future and significance of South African fashion. Creators of the MTV orb, Hjalti Karlsson and Jan Wilker from New York, will also be presenting a bespoke graphic design project that responds to their experience of South African culture, streets, cuisine, creative communities and charm – we call it "Foreign Eye for the Local Guy".
Tickets for the Specialist Indabas on February 25 and 26 are also still available. These breakaway focuses on architecture, jewellery and lifestyle offer concentrated insights for professionals, the public and interested parties.
Avant-garde Swiss jeweller Christoph Zellweger and top studio jeweller Wendy Ramshaw constitute the Jewellery Indaba on February 25 from 1pm to 3pm.
Maestro of British-Japanese architecture Mark Dytham, installation maniac Jason Burges and South African architect responsible for the CTICC, Anya van der Merwe Miszewski, comprise the Architecture Indaba line-up on February 26 from 10am to 1pm.
Leading creative director Ilse Crawford, world-renowned trend forecaster Li Edelkoort and Laetitia Wolff, editor of New York lifestyle magazine Surface, present the Lifestyle Indaba on February 26 from 2pm to 5pm.
