COLLECTIBLE is looking for contemporary design
COLLECTIBLE is now launching its call for applications. The 7th edition of the fair is due to take place from Thursday 7 to Sunday 10 March 2024, following the VIP preview on Wednesday 6 March 2024. The fair returns for a second year in the historical, industrial heritage building Tour & Taxis in Brussels.
MAIN SECTION
The Main section, which forms the heart of the fair, welcomes participation from Belgian and international galleries that wish to showcase contemporary designers. We strongly encourage a curated booth, which has been seen as a noteworthy strength of COLLECTIBLE. We are committed to placing galleries according to consistent affinities, ranging from decorative art to more radical design. This helps a gallery to maintain its identity while encouraging buyers to appreciate the individual profile of each.
BESPOKE SECTION
Independent design studios can apply to the Bespoke section, which is dedicated to works on commission.
Participation at COLLECTIBLE has led to very successful commissions in the past and the Bespoke section highlights this to our visitors. Special attention is being put on unusual and innovative materials (hightech, bio-material, recycled material or special hand-made artisan techniques) created by designers for architects.
DIALOGUE SECTION
DIALOGUE invites galleries to show works from the 80’s and 90’s in conversation with contemporary pieces.
While COLLECTIBLE is dedicated to contemporaryW creation, references and echoes of the history of design cannot be ignored. Placed in the context of a dialogue between historical pieces from the turn of the century and contemporary design objects, this new section offers a unique perspective on the relation between old and new.
DIALOGUE is by invitation only, and is curated by Jean-François Declerq, design curator, expert in 21st century Design for Bonhams Belgium, Tajan and R&C France, and founder of Atelier Jespers.
Previous years have been marked by a plethora of new galleries, dedicated to contemporary design emerging across the world, all driven by the desire to better showcase the designers of our times that inspire them. Sometimes boasting an atypical format, others purely digital, some have a foothold on the street, some occupy space in homes, some are drifting from art to design — COLLECTIBLE wishes to acknowledge and put forward these new galleries, non-profits and collectives by offering additional visibility for them to establish themselves internationally.
A space with special scenography is dedicated and adaptable for each participant. Walls can be added at the expense of the participant.
ARCHITECT <=> DESIGNER SECTION
Architect <=> Designer is a platform solely committed to architects and interior designers who wish to showcase a recently developed project in furniture design.
Most architects have contemplated or have already tried their hand at making furniture. “Less easy than making a skyscraper” said Mies van der Rohe, “the olive in the martini” said Serban Ionescu. Architects’ furniture is what many architects are almost best remembered for — think Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen or Alvar Aalto. Bespoke activations of particular spaces and/or experimentation with scale and materials sometimes develops into independent and distinct practices. With contemporary design merging more and more with art and craft, furniture conceived by architects needs to regain its status. COLLECTIBLE offers a new platform solely dedicated to architects and interior designers who wish to showcase one or a series of furniture they recently developed.
A space with special scenography is dedicated and adaptable for each participant. Walls can be added at the expense of the participant.
The deadline for submissions is Monday 30 October 2023.
CURATED SECTION
For the Curated section of COLLECTIBLE 2024, the curatorial proposal A Public Display of Affection is driven by Rawad Baaklini.
The expression of love and affection sometimes escapes us. Beyond the intimacy and safety of a diary, words can seem distant and even impossible to find. The deepest, richest and most irresistible fragments of our human nature are drowned by an incapacity to communicate how we feel. While we long for the ability to harness words and sculpt language in ways which Audre Lorde, bell hooks or Roland Barthes are able to, what are the tools we are left with to search for what it is we actually want to say amid the scrapyard of our thoughts?
Perhaps another means of expression is one that bridges emotion with creativity; making rather than saying, objects rather than words. Design as a visual and physical language can constitute an affirmation of love. Maybe it could be considered a love language in itself, enticing us to engage mind with matter as we envisage silhouettes of our muse or even despising them to the point of inspiration.
Do we design with the intricate proportions of our lover’s body in mind? Do we search for the perfect hue of light which tells a thousand stories, or fabricate tools to mend a broken heart? This open call invites designers from all backgrounds who have ever produced a piece during, after or as a love story. We want to tap in to the realm of human emotion which gives birth to remarkable creative expression; objects made to convey a message, cement a feeling, keep a fire burning or bring closure, no matter how intimate or how grand the gesture may be.
Apply
The deadline for submissions is Monday 30 October 2023.
