First presented in 2015, Norwegian Presence gathers the best of Norway’s design and manufacturing in an annual showcase of the country’s contemporary creative scene and the values, infrastructure and materials that shape it. In the past, it has taken the form of a Milan Design Week exhibition, but in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, Norwegian Presence has evolved into a dynamic and engaging digital event programme for 2021, with a stronger emphasis on sustainability, carbon reduction and circular design thinking than ever before. Organised by DOGA (aka Design and Architecture Norway, the 2021 programme features three half-day events held in February, March and April 2021, each featuring the selected designers alongside international design thinkers in panel talks, films, and round-table discussions, with each line-up focused on a distinct theme. Alongside the Norway-based designers who are developing intriguing new approaches to sustainable, low-carbon materials such as wood, stone and aluminium, Norwegian Presence also highlights the manufacturers who are pioneering circular-design innovations and socially and environmentally conscious production processes. The products and people presented under the Norwegian Presence banner shine a spotlight on issues such as the use of resources, the importance of material quality, and the sustainability-driven, problem-solving approaches that many of Norway’s designers and makers are taking today.
Having worked on the campaigns for Norway’s Milan exhibitions since 2016 (and other Norwegian design exhibitions the world over since 2012), we are thrilled to join DOGA and co for the seventh year running and to amplify their sustainability story as loud as possible. We’re working with DOGA and the featured designers and manufacturers to ensure that Norwegian Presence’s exciting new platform and format get the international attention they deserve.
Under normal circumstances, we’d be busy sharing all the exciting projects we have lined up for Milan Design Week, and we were ready and raring to go and do just that, but the universe (and the WHO) have other plans...
Launched as a digital exhibition, Norwegian Presence 2020 highlights a trio of trends defining contemporary design culture in Norway: material experimentation, circular thinking, and ‘fixable’ design. Might this be a roadmap to the future of making?
Norwegian Presence – a multi-disciplinary celebration of Norwegian making – is now open in Zona Tortona.
Wool and wood, stone and steel: Norway is blessed with an abundance of raw materials. It makes sense, therefore, that the country has always been a nation of makers.
An insight into the Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture, one of three institutions behind Milan’s annual showcase of Norwegian design.