Published on : Monday, September 15, 2014
On September 19, 2014 it’s “Cast off!” for the International Exhibition Tour “Handmade in Germany”. The design exhibition of 100 important German manufacturers is starting its 15-station world tour. On board are also some companies of the furniture industry.
The touring exhibition will span several years and continents to show a concentrated collection of German quality production: design objects and manufacturing products, all hand-made in Germany and stretching across all branches. The exhibits are choice examples of the worth and future that premium quality and the commitment of time and handiwork have in these times of mass production and globalisation.
Starting in Berlin, the exhibition first moves to St. Petersburg. From the September 19 – 28 the exhibition resides on Nevski Prospekt in the old German quarter in the city‘s centre. Then the tour goes on to visit cities in Asia, America and the Near East before returning to Europe once more.
The tour makes stops in exciting cities and metropolises, among others, in Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, New York, Toronto, Istanbul and Rome. The idea of the tour itself is inspired by the “walz” or “journeyman years” – the journey taken on by apprentices of German trades after completing their apprenticeship, similar to the “Grand Tour” of the European nobility. The journeyman years is a German tradition still followed today.
Germany has many good manufactories producing high-quality products. The reason for this is the historical tradition of German craftsmanship. The training – from apprentice to journeyman to master – is unique in the world; its purpose is to achieve a broad access to traditional knowledge as well as a great depth in the field, which makes handicrafts one of the most diverse and innovative sectors of the national economy.
“Handmade in Germany” uses selected exhibits to show what an important part handicrafts, including the spirit of artistic movements such as the Werkbund and the Bauhaus, play in Germany’s cultural heritage. The exhibition is a journey through the objects and people of modern and traditional Germany as well – of objects and people. The carefully selected collection demonstrates this relational structure and the fabric of meaning between objects and people. Since the reasoning of our late capitalistic world, shrunken to a means end rationality, needs alternatives, which don’t just reduce material things to being marketable “products”. They are an important part of our life, with all its impact on quality of life, nurturing and ability to judge.
Tags: “Handmade in Germany”, furniture industry, German manufacturers, International Exhibition Tour, Nevski Prospekt, Werkbund
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