The 1st floor exhibition at Merikortteli is all about experimenting and debating

Helsinki Design Week’s main event venue Merikortteli’s first floor covers many fields of design – fashion, ceramics, moving image and lighting, just to name a few.

Fashion + Sensibility
Fashion + Sensibility is a joint exhibition by four fashion designers Ilona Hyötyläinen, Marjut Uotila and Merja Seitsonen and Johanna Vainio. The goal has been to provide a platform for a diverse dialogue on fashion. Public discussion about fashion in Finland often boils down to issues of responsibility and the environmental disadvantages of fast fashion. In the exhibition we bring out our perspectives on fashion and what we think should be discussed more about. We constantly see what great a positive impact clothes can have on people and how meaningful clothes can be to their wearers. The exhibition offers a peek into the world of a fashion designer and how designers can take both ecological and social issues into account. After the exhibition all displayed outfits will be available for rent.

ProtoPLAY
ProtoPLAY is a multi-voiced group of creators in the creative field, united by an interest in timeless and honest design and the goal of bringing ideas to production. The group consists of designers, interior architects and textile designers from different backgrounds. In their first joint exhibition, the theme is “design professionals at play”. Shape, color, function – even a small insight into a product can make you happy for a long time. The exhibition includes prototypes of furniture, lighting, ceramics and textiles. Designers: Henri Aarnio, Bianca Byggmästar, Kristoffer Heikkinen, Zsuzsanna Horvath, Sebastian Högnabba, Josh Krute, Tomi Laukkanen, Pilvi Martikainen, Marjut Nousiainen, Maiju Uski.

Imagine Everyday! Outsider Art Finland
Helsinki Design Week and Outsider Art Festival collaboration promotes inclusion, diversity and equality by exhibiting diverse paths to the creative field. In the main exhibition we present Maria Tani’s works, crochet Coral dress and the five Jellyfish. These topics will also be discussed as a part of the Weekly Talks Programme on Friday 15 September. Mode details can be found here.

HEHKU
(Interior Architecture Department, Aalto University)
This exhibition showcases the mesmerizing effect of light by combining traditional and modern elements and experimental materials through new design methods. The common factor that unites the lamps is the e27 socket, so that you can get them a versatile selection of light bulbs that are widely available for homes and other spaces. Each designer has brought his own personal contribution to the design of the lighting models, which is reflected in their visual richness and functional versatility.

Ode to Construction
At once an artist book, web platform, and installation, Ode to Construction: Abstraction in the Digital Age is an exploration of the intersections of design and art through the means of generative code. Stemming from artist Polina Joffe’s long-time love affair with modernism, the work gestures playfully and melancholically towards the desires of the Suprematist and Constructivist movements of the Eastern European avant-garde, which strove to reimagine the role of the artist and create a new mass culture.

ARTEFAKTI
(The Master’s of Contemporary Design programme, Aalto University)
ARTEFAKTI23 will be the first-ever graduation show for the Master’s in Contemporary Design program at Aalto University. The exhibition incorporates varied materials and covers diverse subject matter ranging from sustainability, craft, and more-than-human design to heritage, perception, territoriality, and multi-sensory experiences. ARTEFAKTI also features industry talks and panel discussions, as well as both a digital archive of the works and printed catalogue. ARTEFAKTI designers will also present their new thoughts and ideas as a part of talks programme on Wednesday 13 September 2023.

Helsinki Design Week Merikortteli is open 13–17 September (Wed-Fri 2-8pm, Sat-Sun 12-8pm). The exhibition expands to the first and the sixth floor. You can learn more about the sixth floor exhibition here and buy tickets from here.