New special exhibition in the Vienna Furniture Museum
Vienna (OTS) – From March 1st to June 30th, 2024, the Vienna Furniture Museum is showing the special exhibition “Here We Are! Women in design 1900 – today. An exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum”.
Against the backdrop of the fight for equal rights, the exhibition tells a new, multi-voiced design story that shows that women have made decisive contributions to the development of modern design.
Whether as designers of furniture, fashion or industrial products, as interior designers or entrepreneurs – women have made crucial contributions to the development of modern design. The exhibition presents designers from the last 120 years and tells a new, multi-voiced design story against the backdrop of the fight for equal rights.
Works by around 80 female designers will be shown, including protagonists of modernism such as Eileen Gray, Charlotte Perriand, Lilly Reich and Clara Porset, entrepreneurs such as Florence Knoll and Armi Ratia, but also lesser-known personalities such as the social reformer Jane Addams. Contemporary positions are represented by designers such as Matali Crasset, Patricia Urquiola, Julia Lohmann or the Matri-Archi(tecture) collective and take visitors into the present and future.
The exhibition »Here We Are! “Women in Design 1900 – Today” is as diverse as the discussions about feminism in our society today. It offers a new, contemporary look at the history of modern design and current debates and provides food for thought about what design should be in the 21st century, who defines it and who it is for.
The exhibition is accompanied by a diverse program.
Today, around half of design students are female, and women are leading the way in many pioneering design areas. Using a variety of top-class exhibits, the exhibition »Here We Are! Women in Design 1900 – Today” the creative work and working conditions of women in design from early modernity to the present – from the iconic objects of Eileen Gray to previously little-known new discoveries to today’s activism networks and feminist design research. This creates a positioning on a highly topical social topic that allows modern design to appear in a new light.
The exhibition is divided into four areas that take museum guests on a journey through the last 120 years of design history. In the first area, the focus is on the development of design in Europe and the USA, where the profession of modern design emerged around 1900 – at the same time as women were publicly fighting for more political participation. These efforts at emancipation were also reflected in design, for example in the work of the social reformers Jane Addams and Louise Brigham, which today falls under the term “social design”. Meanwhile, New Yorker Elsie de Wolfe shaped the then new professional field of interior design. The works of designers at the Bauhaus, at the Russian WChUTEMAS (Higher Artistic-Technical Workshops) and the German Workshops in Dresden-Hellerau are also examined. A previously largely undiscovered world opens up at the Loheland School, which, like the Bauhaus, was founded in 1919 but only accepted women. At the Bauhaus, women and men studied together, although women were usually assigned to specific disciplines such as textile or ceramic design. This makes it clear that women in the design professions have become increasingly professional due to better training conditions, but on the other hand they have often continued to be pushed into traditional role models.
The second exhibition area is dedicated to the 1920s to 1950s. During this era, designers such as Charlotte Perriand, Eileen Gray and Clara Porset were able to achieve their first international successes in what was still a patriarchal society. In the Parisian luxury industry, Jeanne Toussaint, as Creative Director, shaped the creations of the Cartier jewelry house for decades. She led the so-called “Département S”, whose products were intended to meet the needs of modern women in the 1920s, and stood for creations that represented a progressive, self-confident image of women. Some of the designers portrayed in the exhibition worked closely with their partners, such as Ray Eames with her husband Charles or Aino Aalto with Alvar Aalto. The women were often overshadowed by their partners, but the exhibition shows that in many cases they made significantly more important contributions to the joint work than was previously known. The best-known example of this is Charlotte Perriand, whose importance as an independent designer has been widely publicized in recent years, with her contribution to the legendary furniture designs that she developed with her famous colleague Le Corbusier also being completely reassessed. Other designers shown here worked independently throughout their lives – such as the ceramist Eva Zeisel, who had a solo exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1946. The exhibition shows that other female designers also deserve greater attention, such as Trude Petri.
The third area addresses the decades from 1950 to the end of the 1980s, in which a second wave of feminism countered the conservative post-war mentality, particularly from the 1960s onwards. Examples such as the Swiss Exhibition of Women’s Work (SAFFA) from 1958 show that women were often associated with domestic activities in design, but despite such restrictions they often produced extraordinary works. The role models and opportunities for women in design continued to change: the ambivalence and upheavals of this turbulent era are reflected in the trendy Marimekko designs of the 70s or the postmodern, sometimes spectacular objects by Italian designers such as Nanda Vigo, Gae Aulenti or Cini Boeri. This period also saw the work of the designer Galina Balashova, who designed many of the futuristic interiors of the space capsules for the Russian space program. Her previously almost unknown work has been discovered for several years.
With the fourth area, the exhibition arrives in the present. Works by internationally established designers such as Matali Crasset, Patricia Urquiola, Inga Sempé, Ilse Crawford and Hella Jongerius prove that women are just as naturally internationally successful in design as men. Some designers push the established boundaries of their discipline and play a significant role in redefining design. They include Julia Lohmann, who researches seaweed as a new, sustainable material, as well as Christien Meindertsma, who examines production processes. At the same time, this exhibition area presents a selection of current initiatives that illustrate how the feminist discourse in design and architecture questions the patterns of authorship, training and recognition and relates them to diversity and intersectionality. In the work “Weaving Constellations of Identity,” created especially for the exhibition, the collective Matri-Archi(tecture) addresses the personal experiences of African and black women designers, while numerous networks and publications put established narratives and structures of design up for discussion. With its workshops and a community platform, the network and collective Futuress provides an alternative to higher education with its many limitations.
The exhibition »Here We Are! “Women in Design 1900 – Today” is as diverse as the upheavals and discussions about feminism in our society today. It offers a new, contemporary look at the history of modern design and provides food for thought about what design should be in the 21st century, who defines it and who it is for. The exhibition is accompanied by a diverse program.
ZITATE-BOX
In the exhibition “Here We Are! Women in Design 1900 – Today” by the Vitra Design Museum, which can be seen in the Vienna Furniture Museum until the end of June, focuses for the first time on the creative work of 80 female designers from the last 120 years. I am particularly touched by the story of the Irish designer and architect Eileen Gray, who only received the recognition she deserved when she was over 90 years old. The exhibition contributes to making the work of women in design visible. And I am pleased that we are shining the spotlight on women in design in the permanent exhibition in the Furniture Museum all year round and have created our own tour with remarkable highlights Mag. Anja Hasenlchener, Head of the Historical Collections Department, Federal Ministry for Labor and Economy
The exhibition “Here We Are! “Women in Design 1900 – Today” at the Vitra Design Museum shines the spotlight on well-known and lesser-known female designers. It was high time to bring these creative women to the fore and recognize their contribution to the development of modern design. I wish the exhibition much success and I wish the designers of today and tomorrow the attention and recognition that they and their works deserve Mag. Klaus Panholzer, CEO / Managing Director Schönbrunn Group
Female designers have influenced our everyday lives with their work just as much as their male colleagues, whether through furniture, fabrics, interiors or fashion. However, women are still underrepresented in design history. With the exhibition “Here We Are!” we wanted to initiate a process to change this. We show that, in addition to the few very well-known names such as Eileen Gray or Charlotte Perriand, there are many female designers who are worth (re)discovering. Today, equality in design – as everywhere in society – is more advanced, but invisible barriers and stereotypes still exist. The exhibition is also intended to point out this, and therefore it has a highly topical core dr. Mateo Kries, director of the Vitra Design Museum.
Anyone who understands design as a carrier of cultural identities and as an activity that gives material form to ideas, beliefs and values will find a surprising number of female designers – both in Western and other cultures. By properly honoring their work and recognizing it as part of the history of design, we contribute to a more diverse and varied understanding of design and its history and help establish new role models for forward-looking design practice, explained Susanne Graner (curator and head of collection and archive), for the curators of the exhibition.
Exhibition location:
Furniture Museum Vienna
Andreasgasse 7, 1070 Vienna
www.moebelmuseumwien.at
Exhibition duration:
March 1st to June 30th, 2024
Opening times & guided tours:
Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Guided tours take place every Sunday and public holidays at 3:00 p.m.
Additional appointments, private tours and tours in English are available on request.
Curators:
Viviane Stappmanns/Curator, Nina Steinmüller/Collections Curator, Susanne Graner/Curator, Head of Collection and Archive Vitra Design Museum
Curatorial assistance:
Josipa Špehar
Exhibition design:
Nathalie Opris, René Herzogenrath, Stefani Fricker
Entry:
Adults € 13.00 / Students (19-25 years) € 12.00 / Seniors (60+) € 12.00 / Children (6-18 years) € 8.50. Surcharge for guided tour: adults € 4.00; Children (6–18 years) €2.00. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.imperialtickets.com. A visit to the special exhibition is included in the annual ticket. The annual ticket is available at the cash desk in the Furniture Museum. Cost: €36.50
The prices listed are valid until April 1, 2024, after which the new pricing season starts.
Further information and reservations as well as arrival options can be found on +43 1 524 33 57, info@moebelmuseumwien.at and www.moebelmuseumwien.at
International Women’s Day in the Furniture Museum Vienna
On March 8, 2024, we celebrate International Women’s Day: To mark this occasion, there are three special tours with plenty of female power at the Vienna Furniture Museum! Our female guides Cornelia Juen, Renate Pölzl and Veronika Gufler lead you through the special exhibition “Here we are!”, the “Sis(s)i in the film tour” and “This is how the Habsburg women lived”.
During our tour of the new special exhibition HERE WE ARE! Women in Design 1900 – today you can experience 120 years of female design history up close. The Sis(s)i in the film tour looks for the similarities and differences between the historical person Elisabeth, the film character Sissi and the actress Romy Schneider. With This is how the Habsburgs lived, you embark on a journey through time spanning almost three centuries: starting with Elisabeth-Christine, the mother of Maria Theresa, through Marie-Antoinette, Archduchess Sophie and Empress Elisabeth all the way to the “Red Archduchess” Elisabeth Petznek.
Exhibition tour: HERE WE ARE! Women in Design 1900 – Today | 11:00 a.m. (Guide: Cornelia Juen)
Sis(s)i in the film tour | 1:00 p.m. (Guide: Renate Pölzl)
This is how the Habsburg women lived 3:00 p.m. (Guide: Veronika Gufler)
Datum: March 8, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
Ort: Andreasgasse 7, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Url:
Questions & Contact:
Mag.a Katharina Karmel
Staff department and management of corporate communications
Tel.: +43 1 811 13 281
Mobil: +43 664 814 5701
Email: karmel@schoenbrunn-group.com
Elisabeth Joham
Corporate communications
Tel.: +43 1 811 13 340
Mobil: +43 664 820 7191
E-Mail: joham@schoenbrunn-group.com
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