TALK: Design/Smithy

During its visit to Fiskars, about an hour from Helsinki, the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK team was struck by certain parallels with the Lower Austrian town of Waidhofen an der Ybbs: For example, blacksmithing was in the past economically important in both places. The current evidence of this fact are the companies Riess and Fiskars, part of the Iittala Group.

Highly different furniture manufacturers, Bene and Nikari, are located at both places. While Fiskars is a hippie-like dream village with a newly established design biennial, Waidhofen an der Ybbs is a proud little city – both have a memorable personality! In a conversation that spans countries, representatives from Austria and Finland will address distinctive regional identity and continued cultural development.

With: Werner Krammer (Mayor, Waidhofen an der Ybbs), Antrei Hartikainen (Designer from Fiskars), Laura Hirvi (The Finnish Institute in Germany), Theresia Hauenfels (Cultural historian, Danube University Krems, Center for Museum Collections Management), Johanna Vuorio (Nikari)

Moderation: Barbara Eggert (University of Art and Design Linz)