The Conversation Show

The Conversation Show is a collective exhibition based on exchanges, interactions, and emotions focusing on the idea of reciprocity in design. It investigates the singular, true, and deep relationship shared by two (or more) people in the process of thinking and working together. The exhibition showcases the creative results of these distinctive and exceptional exchanges.

Working in a group requires mutual respect as well as personal confidence. Mutual support during a group process can help it materialize, and in some cases even improve the final outcome. The theme of duality/plurality and creation as a collective effort is the starting point for this exhibition, which deals with design, human behavior, and intellectual collaboration. The internationally renowned design studios, BCXSY, mischer’traxler, Reddish, Snarkitecture, and Zaven, have analyzed and interpreted their relationships, as well as the different stages of the process of designing together.

The five “conversation pieces” were produced without imposing any limitations on the designers, who were asked to reflect upon and to symbolically represent how their ideas came together. Using a format of their own choosing, they were invited to show how they experienced the process of collaboration. The exhibition is the result of this experimental process.

The exhibition consists of multiple layers: first, it is a show about the designers’ conversations with each other. It is this dialogic dimension that gave rise to the idea of recording their voices in a film, directed by Francesca Molteni, which captures the actual, dynamic process, better than a description of it could in a printed catalogue. In each exhibit, the designers share their creative process and approach, making the effort to capture them with a single gesture. Some of the projects are also meant to interact with the audience, asking viewers to immerse themselves in the creative process. The designers converse among themselves, while also talking to us. In the words of the designer and theorist Victor Papenak: “The only important thing about design is how it relates to people.”

Designers:

BCXSY | mischer’traxler | Studio Reddish | Snarkitecture | Zaven