Exhibit: Design for the Real World Redux

The upcom­ing White Box exhibit “Design for the Real World Redux” fea­tures sub­mis­sions to the inter­na­tional design com­pe­ti­tion for the 2011 Vic­tor J. Papanek Social Design Award. The com­pe­ti­tion bears not only Papanek’s name, but his legacy. Pub­lished over 40 years ago, his book Design for the Real World argued that “design, if it is to be eco­log­i­cally respon­si­ble and socially respon­sive, must be rev­o­lu­tion­ary and radical.”

Papanek’s ideals con­tinue to res­o­nante with design­ers, artists, and activists around the world, as demon­strated by the competition’s diverse array of entries. A jury selected 4 win­ners and 13 final­ists out of 92 sub­mis­sions from 20 countries.

Win­ning projects include “Open Green Map,” an inter­na­tional social map­ping plat­form; “OLPC XO-3 Tablet,” a children’s edu­ca­tional tool for world­wide dis­tri­b­u­tion; “Jani San­i­tary Pad,” a low-cost biodegrad­able san­i­tary pad; and “Urba­neer­ing Brook­lyn 2110: Eco­log­i­cal City of the Future,” a col­lab­o­ra­tive imag­in­ing of a self-sustaining Brooklyn.

The sub­mis­sions of win­ners and final­ists will be on dis­play June 18 – July 15, 2012 with an open­ing recep­tion on Wednes­day, June 20, 6 – 8 pm. Visit White Box for more infor­ma­tion about this event.

Image: Urba­neer­ing Brook­lyn 2110: Eco­log­i­cal City of the Future