ECO Solidarity, a collaborative initiative bringing together leading European designers and studios represented by EUNIC NY,the European Union National Institutes for Culture, returns to New York’s Javits Center between May 21-23, 2023, as part of ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan. Responding to the environmental and humanitarian crises, this year’s edition focuses on design with empathy, addressing some of the world’s most pressing conditions of human health and wellbeing. The Romanian project is created by FOR, an innovative design and architecture studio based in Timisoara, Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2023, and is produced with the support of RCI New York.
Showcasing designers and design studios from nine European countries, ECO Solidarity 2023 includes a design exhibit, two panel discussions, workshops, and more. The goal of ECO Solidarity 2023 is to reexamine the roles of designers and architects in contemporary world, finding more ways to offer vital skills and deliver practical support for individuals and communities affected by environmental disasters, war, and violence. This year’s projects explore ways to improve urban domestic infrastructures, preserve and restore natural habitats, protect the health and wellbeing of people, and accommodate displacement of the most vulnerable members of the community.
The 2023 program is organized around two themes. The first focuses on prevention and research, new sustainable materials and methods of implementation that improve durability, circularity, recycling waste, carbon-neutral, and low-emission productions, with the goal of improving human and environmental habitats.
The second focuses on ethical issues that surround design and architecture, reconstruction, recuperation, and healing in response to environmental and humanitarian crises resulting from military conflicts. The emphasis is placed on repositioning architects and designers to address critical issues through community engaged design process via interactive initiatives, city walks and site-specific interventions.
Participating E.U. designers and studios include: Theresa Bastek, Studio Plastique(Wallonie-Bruxelles Region, Belgium), Eliška Novák Knotková, Balance is Motion(Czech Republic), Dorian Cani,COLLCOLL(Germany),Aušra Česnauskytė and Goda Verikaitė, Neo Futuristic Walks (Lithuania), Kamila Szatanowska and Paulina Rogalska, FALA Architektura(Poland), Pepe Peralta Guerrero, FOR(Romania), Otto Nagy, Terratico (Slovakia), Angel Mombiedro, Armombiedro Studio (Spain), with a special guest, Victoria Yakusha, FAINA Designfrom Ukraine.
Romanian designer spotlight: FOR, presenting ON WHEELS
There’s a Romanian saying that translates to “everything will run on wheels,” meaning everything is going to be fine. To answer the question about the relevance of design in fostering a sense of normality in dire circumstances, FOR displays a series of upcycled physical objects using the familiar shiny emergency blanket as core material. Packed in a simple rolling suitcase alongside an online repository of DIY objects that can be accessed through any Internet connection, the series includes items that work both in a lasting crisis situation and in instances of light hearted normality.
FOR(Romania) is a team of architects who decided to practice beyond the conventional boundaries of the field, offering services designed to foster innovation across the community and the city: spaces for collaborative work and growth for professionals, teams and projects, architecture services, and the ability to design, prototype and create in-house.
Since its founding in 2020, ECO Solidarity is co-curated by Odile Hainaut, Brand director of ICFF and WantedDesign Manhattan, and Izabela Gola, Visual Arts and Design Curator at the Polish Cultural Institute NY. The exhibition is designed and curated by Deborah Wang, architect and artistic director of DesignTO, Toronto.
ECO Solidarity 2023 is presented in partnership with EUNIC NY,the European Union National Institutes for Culture, includingWallonie-Bruxelles Design Mode, Czech Center New York, Goethe-Institut New York, Consulate General of Lithuania in New York, Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Architecture Fund,Polish Cultural Institute New York,Romanian Cultural Institute New York,Consulate General of Slovak Republic in New York, Consulate General of Spain New York, Consulate General of Portugal New York,and the European Union Delegation to the United Nations.ECO Solidarity had been fueled for two consecutive years by the EUNIC Cluster Grant Award granted by EUNIC Global. This year’s special guest representing war-torn Ukraine, FAINA Design, is invited as an expression of solidarity with the Ukrainian nation. FAINA Design's participation is supported by EUNIC, Polish Cultural Institute New York, andAdam Mickiewicz Institutein Warsaw, Poland.
WantedDesign is a NYC-based platform dedicated to promoting design and fostering the international creative community throughout the year. Founded in New York City in 2011 by Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, WantedDesign has established itself as a constant and staunch supporter of U.S. and international design. Focusing on emerging and new ideas in design, its main trade event WantedDesign Manhattan was acquired by Emerald in 2019 and is now co-locating with ICFF at the Javits Center.wanteddesignnyc.com
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) is where designers, retailers, developers, and architects converge to exchange inspiration and ignite a competitive drive for contemporary residential and commercial interiors. With a selection of both established and emerging designers, the ICFF delivers a selection of the globe’s finest, most creative, individual and original avant-garde products showcased in one venue. Exhibitors from 36 countries come to the ICFF each year to showcase the newest frontier of high-end, contemporary interiors. Icff.com
European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) is the European network of organizations engaging in cultural relations. Together with our partners, we bring to life European cultural collaboration in more than 100 countries worldwide with a network of 133 clusters, drawing on the broad experience of our members from all EU Member States and associate countries. EUNIC advocates a prominent role of culture in international relations and is a strategic partner of the EU, actively involved in the further definition of European cultural policy. EUNIC is a platform for knowledge sharing and for capacity building amongst its members and partners. eunicglobal.eu
