9th Belgrade Design Week Announced

Belgrade, 1^st October – Ninth Belgrade Design Week will take place from 6^th to 11^th October at the old Staklopan factory, at Strahinjića bana 7-9, Dorćol, it was announced today at the press conference at the City Hall. The conference was opened by Jovan Jelovac, Belgrade Design Week founder, thanking everyone who supported the event and made it possible for the world to see the best of Serbia, and for Serbia to meet the greatest minds from all fields of creative industries.

– For the first time, BDW is held under the high patronage of the President of Serbia and the Mayor of Belgrade. We hope this will continue in the years to come, because we strive to give the creative industries the place they deserve in the minds of people, as an important partner in times of crisis. The idea is for every designer to be the nucleus of a new beginning and of this country’s future. It is very important not to give up in this difficult year, and that’s why we are doing our best to make BDW encouraging for our countrymen. Our message is: CREATE NEW VALUE, said Jovan Jelovac.

He pointed out to the BDW’s mission to draw attention of the public to the neglected icons of national architecture, from Kluz factory, Museum of Contemporary Art, Jugoslavija hotel and finally, the old Staklopan factory in Dorćol to which, in line with this tradition, BDW will bring back its former glory.

The conference was attended by Vladan Vukosavljević, Secretary for Culture of the City of Belgrade, H.E. Laurent L. Stokvis, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Serbia, H.E. Yossef Levy, Ambassador of Israel to Serbia, Mr. Vinay Kumar, Second Secretary of Embassy of India in Serbia, Karl- Heinz Schmitz, attaché of Embassy of Germany in Serbia, Hose Umberto Castro Villalobos, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Embassy of Mexico in Serbia; Milhajlo Vesović, Vice-president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Mina Dimitrijević, representative of Gorenje company.

– It is my great pleasure that the Secretariat for Culture is taking part in the Belgrade Design Week event. There is only a handful of these events. This one is a result of many years of dedication of enthusiasts who managed to make Belgrade part of the world, and bring the world to Belgrade. This is obviously the impact of Belgrade Design Week. This is a good opportunity for Belgrade, because it takes in talent and know-how and the doors of our capital become wide open, said Belgrade Secretary for Culture, Vladan Vukosavljević.

A central event of Belgrade Design Week is the international Brand New World conference, taking place on 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th October, featuring speakers from over 20 countries, from various creative industries – Massimiliano Fuksas, Zuzanna Skalska, Michel Rojkind, Tom Strala, Christian Kerez, BBH / Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Nicolas le Moigne, Guido Woska / Designit, Ido Garini / Studio Appetit, Gavrilo Bozovic / restons-serieux, Igor Kordey, Irena Kilibarda, Milos Dimčić, Kim Herforth Nielsen / 3XN, Satya Sheel / Metrovalley, and more. The festival includes an exhibition program: BDW DizajnPark, BDW DizajnLabs professional workshops and a traditional project 100% Future Serbia, which promotes young designers. 100% Future Serbia opening will take place on 6^th October at KC Grad, while the grand opening ceremony of Belgrade Design Week is scheduled for 7^th October, at the old Staklopan factory.

This year’s BDW is held under the high patronage of the President of the Republic of Serbia, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Assembly of the City of Belgrade, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, National Tourism Organisation of Serbia, supported by embassies and institutions from Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, India and Israel.