Het Nieuwe Instituut hosts circular fair to conclude ‘Temporary House of Home’

Rotterdam based Het Nieuwe Instituut organised a design fair as part of their ‘Temporary House of Home’ exhibition on 1 May 2022. Featuring a large paraphernalia of innovatively designed homeware items that were displayed in several different interior settings, ascribed to the contemporaneous need for sustainability and were made available for sale, the fair tended to all kinds of needs and budgets. It is one of the several events that have been organised by the Dutch institute over the past year with the intention of engaging in conversations pertaining to the evolution of domestic interiors and design in the past few decades. Some of the labels and designers whose products were displayed at the event include STORE Rotterdam, Fundamente, Nomad Objects, Groen + Akker, ted., Kleur en Stof, The DIRT and FEST Amsterdam.

The ever-evolving exhibition, ‘Temporary House of Home’ went on display in July 2021 in the spaces of Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. It began with the intention of exploring the change in the usage of home after a solitary year spent under the threat of the pandemic. Each room in the exhibition was furnished by various artists according to specific housing themes, thus serving as a blend of different concepts and realities.

With activities ranging from work and study to play, exercise and leisure, we have now learnt to transform each room multiple times in a day to accommodate activities that could earlier be harboured in different communal spaces. In a scenario where public presence and interaction has been limited to the bare minimum under the threat of the omnipresent virus, such innovation is not only a trend, but also an important requisite. Through a series of multivocal showcases, the exhibition regularly presents spatial collages where every perspective is entertained and every perspective questioned.

The exhibition presents different interpretations and usages of the same indoor spaces, thus featuring like a montage of the many activities that can be contained in the small rooms of a home. With interior arrangements set against both past and present contexts, it gives a comprehensive overview of the many design iterations that can exist in an indoor space, when confronted with external forces such as technological innovation, property speculation, migration and mandatory confinement. In doing so, questions pertaining to the idea of design that dominates general consciousness emerge.

Apart from focusing on the subjects of home security and insecurity, dream homes, haunted houses, home makeovers and rationed accommodation for homeless people, this year long exhibit has also brought to focus the evolution of Dutch design. With exhibitions and events like ‘Sunday Stroll with Maurik’, ‘Colonial Spectres #1’ and ‘If Walls Could Talk’, non-traditional perspectives of homes were discussed and traditional, yet contested histories were debated on.

Their most recent initiative, ‘Temporary House of Home Design Fair’, once again, attracted the attention of the general public with the promise of a retail experience built on conscious practice and economical offerings. Designed as individual rooms that visitors can meander through, the fair was dotted with everyday utilitarian and decorative objects: from kitsch and art to indoor furniture and smaller homeware items. The pop-up design event was also accompanied by a special live auction organised by Dead Darlings, an anonymous design auction collective, in the auditorium of the institute. Accompanied by talks given by interior and furniture designer Mina Abouzahra on her art project ‘One Square Meter’ and a live performance by GHOD collective, the fair was further enriched. Additionally, the works of several artists such as Rik van Veen, Annemijn Adriaensen, Pepijn Fabius Clovis, Hanna Kooistra and Forever Studio were showcased as a curated show by interior stylist, art collector and curator Berry Dijkstra.

The Netherlands based Het Nieuwe Instituut is a national museum and institute that regularly organises discussions, discourses, research programs, exhibits and events that bring focus to the topics of architecture, design and digital culture. By engaging both professional designers and architects as well as the diverse audience that participates in these initiatives, a creatively and critically charged dialogue is established to address extant issues.

The exhibition ‘Temporary House of Home’ will remain on display until 15 May at the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Museumpark 25, 3015 CB Rotterdam, Museumpark, The Netherlands.