There Is Always a Design Emergency - Paola Antonelli Masterclass

Date: 2023.06.20
“Design is about life”, says Senior Curator of MoMA Paola Antonelli, who has been exploring the role of design in the context of global challenges and everyday life over the years, including in the 2015 book and project Design and Violence and the XXII Triennale di Milano ‘Broken Nature’ of 2019.

The truth of this statement was strongly demonstrated by the pandemics worldwide, in a period when design was adapted to address vital challenges from the Mexican/U.S. border to the streets of Cairo; from an intensive care unit to a screen; and from objects to global infrastructures. People used design and design thinking to resolve emergencies day after day. 

Antonelli’s talk will explore the evolving role of designers responding to the most pressing global issues, as well as the impact of their oeuvre and mindset on the whole, illustrated with best practices from all over the world, and introducing design activism as an extraordinary design attitude and a driver of social and political change. 

The presentation is is based on Antonelli’s book Design Emergency, co-authored with design critic Alice Rawsthorn during the pandemic following the launch of their Instagram Live series of the same name. The novel approach it introduced will be presented to the Hungarian public on the World Industrial Design Day on 29 June at Antonelli’s master class entitled There Is Always a Design Emergency. 

The world-renowned curator and author, also described as one of the most incisive design visionaries in the world by TIME Magazine, and former lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts MFA programme, New York is now coming to Budapest at the invitation of the MOME Foundation to deliver a graduation speech at MOME’s graduation ceremony as part of the Global Voices programme.  
 
Date and Time: 29 June 2023, 6:00 p.m.  
Venue: MOME Film Studio 
Participation requires registration.
Registration: https://www.addevent.com/event/OQ17480157   
The event is part of the Global Voices at MOME initiative, supported by the MOME Foundation.

More news

Following the organisational changes introduced in the spring, MOME has adjusted the composition of its Senate once again to bring it into line with the amended regulatory framework. Elected through a democratic and lawful process, the new Senate held its inaugural meeting on 29 October 2026. Its membership substantially overlaps with that of the previous Senate, with more than 90 per cent of the members having also served on the previous body.
A press conference announcing the Hungarian launch of the 2026 European Week for Waste Reduction was held at MOME on 29 September. The event was attended by Minister for the Living Environment László Gajdos. This year’s campaign highlights the importance of using materials efficiently under the slogan “Every decision counts. Every resource matters.”
Five MOME students took home awards at the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2026 presented in Singapore on 15 October. Visitors to the MOME MA Open Day × Alumni Career Day on 30 October will also have the chance to meet Zsombor Égerházi, Kristóf Kovács, and Gergely Sárady, all Red Dot Award recipients. They will take part in a panel discussion entitled FormaNorma Alumni Special – The Red Dot Award in Focus, sharing their experiences of international competition, the application process, and the professional significance of the award.
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