Internationally renowned trend-forecaster and curator Li Edelkoort returns to Design Museum Holon with the new exhibition. In a world first, GATHERING will feature a survey of the ground-breaking 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE collection by the legendary Japanese designer.

Disdain for a boring global market coupled with a fear of the virtualisation of society has inspired designers to create work that is linked to the humanisation of the making process and the contextualisation of a more responsible lifestyle. Craft has therefore become one of the major movements of our time and can be understood as the repetition of skills that belong to our common past, exuding a sense of belonging and continuity.  

In this exhibition, Edelkoort, renowned for her visionary eye, brings together contemporary design themes that reflect traditional domestic crafts in an attempt to remain connected to authenticity: pleating, draping, layering, ribboning, smocking, wrapping, folding, needleworking, felting, knitting, quilting and baking. However, the designers in GATHERING apply new technologies and techniques to completely transform their actions. Their interventions celebrate the possibilities that lie in front of us, ever more creative than in the recent past. These designers use three-­dimensional craftsmanship, which reinvigorates design, lending body and beauty to archetypical chairs or giving form and volume to lighting structures.

Edelkoort explains the show's context: "We are an unstitched society suffering from a lasting socio-economic crisis that has made us ferociously protective and egocentric. It is time for mending and gathering, thus restoring the fabric of society: picking up the pieces and bringing them together in a patchwork of possibilities; a quilt of substance, able to absorb shock and fear". (read more)

Displayed in the museum's lower gallery, the 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE collection is revolutionary in its application of pop-up methodologies and ecological awareness as well as its efforts to sustain Japanese artisanal knowledge. (read more)

Galit Gaon, Chief Curator of Design Museum Holon, comments: "GATHERING reinstitutes the economic, environmental, and social responsibilities of artisans and designers. Within this gesture, curators Li Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano expertly expand the current discourse about our future, examining the movement of contemporary design, its processing methods and the ways in which materials are used to create the new. As a museum for the 21st century, we strive to present a broad and fascinating gaze into design, spanning research processes, creative objects and theoretical issues." 

Read more about the exhibition:

Exhibition Catalogue

GATHERING - From domestic craft to industrial process / Lidewij Edelkoort

132 5. Issey Miyake: A Work of Hope / Philip Fimmano

The "Soft Logics" Of Pleating, Draping and Wrapping / Yael Taragan

This exhibition is made possible through the kind support of Chaim Katzman, in loving memory of his late wife Dr. Shulamit Katzman.
Dr. Shulamit Katzman joined the Design Museum Holon Board of Trustees at its inception. Thanks to her unwavering passion and generous support, the museum has quickly established itself as one of the world's most recognised museums of design and culture. Design Museum Holon is grateful to Dr. Katzman's family and will strive to carry on her legacy of dedication, kindness, love, and generosity.