Displaying Design:
History, Criticism, and Curatorial Discourses

Design History Society Annual Conference 2023

September 7–9

ESAD · College of Art and Design

Design exhibitions and exhibition design have a central place in the history of design, providing us with significant milestones for understanding how designers, schools, companies, and organisations have publicly displayed work, values, and ideas. In parallel to the exercise of exhibiting design, either by following the vision of a curator or the programme of a museum or gallery, we have encountered different ways of collecting, archiving and musealizing design and its history. Considering, both the importance of design exhibitions and curatorship in the construction of design history over the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, as well as its relative peripheral dimension (within design history studies and outside a perspective dominated by Anglo-Saxon historiography), the DHS 2023 conference unfolds under the motto: Displaying Design: History, Criticism and Curatorial Discourses.

Keynote Speakers

Jane Pavitt

United Kingdom

Head of Research and Learning at Zaha Hadid Foundation

Professor Jane Pavitt is Head of Research and Learning for the Zaha Hadid Foundation, London, with responsibility for academic partnerships, curatorial projects, and public programmes. She is a curator, writer, and historian of architecture and design, and has curated and co-curated several major international exhibitions of 20th-century design and culture at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She has held teaching, research, and management roles at the University of Brighton, V&A, Royal College of Art, and Kingston University. She is on the exhibitions advisory committee of the London Design Museum and is a Visiting Professor at Kingston School of Art.

Maria Helena Souto

Portugal

Researcher at UNIDCOM/IADE

Maria Helena Souto, Associate professor at IADE-Universidade Europeia, holds a PhD in Art Sciences (Universidade de Lisboa) and a master’s degree in Art History (Universidade Nova de Lisboa). Her research field is the Design History, with a focus on the relationship between Portuguese Design and Gender Studies. On these topics, she has published several articles and books, curated exhibitions and coordinated national and international research projects, namely she was one of the Scientific Responsible at the European cooperation project “MoMoWo - Women’s Creativity since the Modern Movement” and currently, she is a member of the research project funded by FCT “Women Architects in Portugal, 1942-1986”.

Saki Mafundikwa

Zimbabwe

Founder and director of the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA)

Saki Mafundikwa is the recipient of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from Design and Art Direction (D&AD), the UK’s premier design and advertising organization. He is the founder and director of the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA) a design and new media training college in Harare. He has an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University. He has been published widely on design and cultural issues and is currently working on a revised edition of Afrikan Alphabets: the Story of Writing in Afrika. His award-winning first film, Shungu: The Resilience of a People had its world premiere at 2009’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). In July 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by University of the Arts London (UAL).

PROGRAMME

FULL PROGRAMME

Download the detailed programme and the Book of Abstracts

PARALLEL ACTIVITIES

6th September

  • Design History Society Annual Publishing Workshop 2023
    Location: esad—idea, Rua Brito Capelo 243, Matosinhos (different location from the main Design History Society conference).

    This in person workshop is free and open to everyone, including those not registered for the main Design History Society conference, but to secure a place participants must book in advance. If you wish to participate in this workshop, please register for a place via Eventbrite before 11.59pm on 29 August 2023.

    Speakers include Grace Lees-Maffei, Chair of Editorial Board, Journal of Design History, Priscila Farias, Editor of InfoDesign and The Design Journal, Sarah Cheang, Advisory Board Member, Mi Medrado, Editor-in-Chief, Research Collective for Decoloniality and Fashion, Libby Davies, Editor, Bloomsbury Publishing, Jane Tynan, Editorial Board, Journal of Design History and Sally Huxtable and Livia Rezende, Series Editors: Studies in Design and Material Culture, Manchester University Press.

    BOOKING LINKS AND WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
    Session 1: Explorations: Alternative Approaches to Design Writing
    15:00–16:30 Local Matosinhos Time (UTC+ 1 hour)
    Booking: https://shorturl.at/ivP12

    Session 2: Diversity, Inclusion, and Design History Publishing
    16:50–18:00 Local Matosinhos Time (UTC+ 1 hour)
    Booking: https://shorturl.at/mqA08

7th September

  • 5.00pm - 6.00pm
    DHS Student Forum Event: Displaying Research
    Location: ESAD garden, Matosinhos

    From social media platforms and research blogs to university profiles and presentations, the contemporary researcher is in a constant cycle of display. Some of these are longstanding parts of the academic process, while some are symptomatic of our contemporary culture, in which institutional research objectives align with the logic of an attention/reaction economy whereby display and potential ‘engagement’ equals value.

    This context, and the associated platforms and possibilities, provide new spaces for researchers to showcase and share their findings while also prompting questions about the merit of new and established methods of displaying research outcomes and works in progress.

    This event will open a dialogue through which current researchers can reflect upon and question the significance and benefits of different mechanisms for the display of research, sharing their experiences and hopes for how they can impact the field more broadly.

    With: Alex Todd, Ana Sofia Cardoso, Ana Duque and Harriet Atkinson
    (and all who want to join)

  • An Oxford University Press cocktail party at Quinta de Santiago, Matosinhos

8th September

10th September

City tour Displaying Sites across Porto and Matosinhos

Full programme

  • 10 am Meeting point

    Casa do Design - Introduction to the exhibition "Sneakers: Portuguese Brands from the Estado Novo to the Turn of the Millennium", curated by Pedro Carvalho de Almeida;

    Casa de Chá da Boa Nova - includes viewpoint Capela da Boa Nova; 

    Piscina das Marés.

  • 12h30 - 13h30 pm

    Lunch break in the gardens of Quinta da Conceição (Lunch box included); 
    Short stop at Quinta da Conceição swimming pool.

  • 14h00 

    Stroll along the Douro riverside and climb the Cathedral of Porto; 
    Torre dos 24.

  • 15h00  

    Museu Romântico

  • 16h30

    Serralves Foundation (Museum of Contemporary Art) - Gardens and art-deco house with reference to the works of Calder, Anish Kapoor, Claes Oldenbourg & Coosje Van Bruggen.

  • 17h00 

    End of the tour with an optional visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art.

    Booking: https://shorturl.at/cpIUW

Registration

  • Early bird, DHS member — €150.00
  • Early bird, Student or Low Income Country — €110.00
  • Early bird, Non-member — €240.00
  • DHS member — €170.00
  • Student or Low Income Country — €130.00
  • Non-member — €260.00
  • Gala Dinner (extra fee) — €30.00
  • City tour Displaying Sites (extra fee) — €25.00

Tickets available on the website esad—idea—store

Notes:
The Design History Society offers bursaries for DHS Students and/or precariously employed members. The bursary covers the DHS member concessionary conference fee. For more information please visit the society’s website.

Scientific Committee

Alex Todd
University of Brighton, UK and Pratt Institute, US

Alice Semedo
DCTP-FLUP/CITCEM, Departamento de Ciências e Técnicas do Património da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar Cultura, Espaço e Memória, Portugal

Ana Luísa Marques
UNIDCOM/IADE, Universidade Europeia, Unidade de Investigação em Design e Comunicação, Portugal

Ana Raposo
ESAD/esad—idea, Escola Superior de Arte e Design, Investigação em Design e Arte, Portugal

Ana Sofia Cardoso
ESAD/esad—idea, Escola Superior de Arte e Design, Unidade de Investigação em Design e Arte, Portugal

Ana Tostões
Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto Superior Técnico/CiTUA, Centro em Território, Urbanismo e Arquitetura, Portugal

Bárbara Coutinho
Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto Superior Técnico/CiTUA, Centro em Território, Urbanismo e Arquitetura, Portugal

Bernardo Pinto de Almeida
FBAUP, Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto, Portugal

Cat Rossi
University for the Creative Arts, UK

Dora Souza Dias
University of the Arts London, UK

Eduardo Côrte-Real
E-IADE, Universidade Europeia, Portugal; esad—idea, Investigação em Design e Arte, Portugal

Elli Michaela Young
London Metropolitan University and Middlesex University, UK

Emanuel Barbosa
ESAD/esad—idea, Escola Superior de Arte e Design, Unidade de Investigação em Design e Arte, Portugal

Fiona Anderson
Edinburgh College of Art, UK

Grace Lees-Maffei
University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK

Harriet Atkinson
University of Brighton, UK

Helena Barbosa
Departamento de Comunicação e Arte, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal

Jane Tynan 
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Joana Couceiro
ESAD/esad—idea, Investigação em Design e Arte, Portugal; CEAU/FAUP, Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo, Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto, Portugal

João Paulo Martins
FAUL/CIAUD, Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa, Centro de Investigação em Arquitetura, Urbanismo e Design, Portugal

Kjetil Fallan
University of Oslo, Norway

Leah Armstrong
University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria

Livia Rezende
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Mafalda Moreira
The Glasgow School of Art, Scotland 

Manuel Ferreira Rodrigues
Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de Educação e Psicologia, Portugal

Maria João Baltazar
ESAD/esad—idea, Escola Superior de Arte e Design, Unidade de Investigação em Design e Arte, Portugal

Marta Filipová
Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic

Naomi Reid-Evans 
Consultor and freelance graphic, fashion, and editorial designer

Priscila Lena Farias
University of São Paulo, Brazil

Romy Shah
Independent designer and working with Saffronart

Rosa Alice Branco
ESAD/esad—idea, Unidade de Investigação em Design e Arte, Portugal; ID+ Instituto de investigação em Design, Arte, Media e Cultura, Portugal

Sally-Anne Huxtable
The National Trust, UK

Sandra Senra
CITCEM/FLUP, Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar Cultura, Espaço & Memória, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Portugal

Sarah Lichtman
Parsons The New School for Design, New York, USA

Teresa Fradique
SAD.CR-IPLeiria, Escola Superior de Artes e Design do Instituto Politécnico de Leiria; CRIA, Centre for Research in Anthropology, Portugal

Yasmine Nachabe Taan
Lebanese American University, Beirut

Venue

ESAD

College of Art and Design

Located in Matosinhos, ESAD College of Art and Design is close to Porto city center, accessible by car, bus, or underground, and only a few minutes from various amenities and points of interest. ESAD offers degrees in design and arts, a master's in design, several postgraduate courses, an open training programme, workshops, and summer labs. It annually grants scholarships to candidates for undergraduate and master's degrees.

 

HOW TO GET THERE

 

BY AEROPLANE

From Sá Carneiro's Airport to ESAD is a 10 minutes drive by car. The metro takes 15 minutes from the airport metro station to ESAD. Look for the Blue line Estádio do Dragão - Senhor de Matosinhos and get out of the metro at the Estádio do Mar station. From there, ESAD is a 5 minutes walk.

 

BY TRAIN OR BUS

From Campanhã station (Porto) take the metro to Estádio do Mar. The Blue Line (Estádio do Dragão - Senhor de Matosinhos) will take you there.  It's a 30 minutes distance by metro and 17 by car.

Organized by

esad—idea

Research Center of ESAD

Created in 2014, esad—idea, ESAD’s research centre, takes on the mission of contributing not only to the development of teaching, but also to the advancement of research, culture, and science, in the fields of design and the arts. esad—idea, Research in Design and Art is an R&D unit focused on doing, shaping ideas, and looking for solutions to problems. It is dedicated to fundamental and applied research, consulting, cultural programming, and design services. With the objective of contributing to the development, application, and transfer of knowledge, esad—idea integrates the critical dimension inherent to a polyphonic time, assuming the ability to anticipate the present and to frame the future.

Organized by
ESAD - College of Art and Design
esad—idea, Research in Design And Art

Promoted by
Design History Society

Convener
Maria João Baltazar 

Co-conveners
Emanuel Barbosa 
Joana Couceiro 
Magda Seifert 

Project Manager
Maira Biza

Administrative Assistant
Sandra Fraga

Graphic Design
Emanuel Barbosa

Web Design · Development
Diogo Vilar
Paulo Ferreira

Communication
Inês Pinto

Support