The female golden resistance takes centre stage in Manhattan
Across New York City’s Flatiron district, a rare and long overdue golden resistance is taking place. Havah…to breathe, air, life is a new public project showcasing a duo of female-figured sculptures. Created by Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander, Havah…to breathe, air, life aims to address recent ‘setbacks to women’s constitutional progress’...
Current in Design
Copenhagen’s eco-village meets all 17 Sustainable Development Goals
An eco-village under construction in Copenhagen is redefining what sustainability means within architecture. Instead of focusing on purely renewable energy or green building materials, it consciously addresses all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. South of the city centre in Copenhagen, a residential area called Ørestad is being constructed...
New York’s notorious prison could be transformed into a green hub
The local council has planned to close New York’s most notorious prison by 2027. In efforts to decarbonise the state, designers have put forward ideas to turn Riker’s Island into a green energy hub. Over the years, Riker’s Island – a 400-acre piece of land located between the Bronx and...
Designers are utilizing discarded seashells as a building material
Learning to work with natural materials will be vital in shaping our sustainable future. From drinking glasses to hard hats and more – designers are getting creative by testing the limits of seashells. ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ has been ingrained into most of us from a young age. But for innovative designers,...
Dementia villages are changing the future of elderly care
Specially designed to look like the towns where residents are from, dementia villages are giving elderly people the freedom to live normally within a close community – even as their recent memory begins to fade. Growing old is a fact of life whether we like it or not. While beauty companies...
David Hockney’s new exhibition is a celebration of art’s future
Beloved British artist David Hockney may be 85, but he is still pushing the boundaries of what art can do. Known for his bold use of colour, astute portraiture, and intrepid depictions of queerness, David Hockney is a national treasure. His work has pushed boundaries in every way that art can;...
Pallet ‘pop up’ shelters used to help combat homelessness
What if you could build a house in less than an hour? The US company Pallet has created a shelter that does just that in an effort to fight homelessness. It can be a huge task building homes. Planning, construction, and plumbing can take months and even years, with sizeable costs and materials required before you can start. These nifty temporary shelters from Pallet skip all of those obstacles, however,...
Milan Design Week showcases innovative biofilm breakthrough
At the world’s most important design event, Dutch designer Lionne van Deursen presented an innovative biofilm made from yeast. The eco-material could one day replace pesky plastic films that are notoriously difficult to recycle. Phasing out plastics is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. With 9 billion tons of the stuff produced over the last seventy years, we’ve created a mess so difficult to eradicate that plastic can...
RCA’s Virgil Abloh Scholarship fights underrepresentation in the arts
The Royal College of Art has announced a new scholarship honouring the late fashion designer Virgil Abloh – in an effort to support underrepresented communities. A new scheme by the Royal College of Art will see one ‘extraordinarily talented, but financially restricted, Black British student’ offered an annual scholarship to study at the prestigious arts institution. The Virgil Abloh scholarship, named after the late fashion designer, will provide a single...
Saatchi Gallery’s new exhibition spotlights Black visionaries
The New Black Vanguard features photographers Campbell Addy and Tyler Mitchell, spotlighting Black visionaries at the intersection of art and fashion. The Saatchi Gallery’s latest show, ‘The New Black Vanguard’, is – as its name would suggest – a celebration of Blackness. Photographer Campbell Addy, whose work features in the exhibit and whose vision helped bring it to life, is one of a number of Black photographers working at the intersection...
