Fringe

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NANABENZ
Nanabenz is run by a group of newly examined designers that are driven by art, illustration, fashion, industrial design and graphic design. Our idea is to run a organization where exchange is on both an artistic and creative level. Nanabenz believes in breaking down boundaries and allowing for different competences to come together and create a new multifaceted and colorful whole.

Nanabenz consists of:
Martina Friis, Anja Amundsen, Karin Larsson, Charlotte Edsgren, Johanna Färjhage, Eszter Jessika Csaszar, Ulrika Löfgren

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MERMERMER
Mermermer is a newly formed design group located here in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Mermermer consists of:
Karin Persson, Camilla Blomgren, Jennie Olsson, Åsa-Hanna Carlsson, Helena Baude, Lotta Kvist

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DESIGNINART
Art and design have long had a close and contested relationship. Critical issues - intention and function, audience and interaction, method and artifact - are shared and between the disciplines. Today, the incorporation of new interactive and time-based technologies into processes and practices have again challenged and blurred the borders between traditional notions of art and design. Shifts in the cultural and institutional context have also altered perspectives - these days galleries and museums seem to be filled with ‘design’ exhibitions.

More recently, the emergence of critical design (with much of its roots in conceptual art), new media art, experimental and interaction design suggests to some extent an increased exchange or reversal of roles between the artist and the designer. In these forms of practice, designers are focusing less on solving the problems at hand and more on artifacts and methods for speculation and critique. Various artists, in turn, are focusing on conceptual art practice to work with systems or patterns as 'solutions' in particular situations. Inspirations, methods, and roles are blurred in an emerging territory of creative and interdisciplinary practice, requiring that we re-examine basic notions and foundations.

Perhaps we are exploring new notions of material and immaterial artifacts...
Perhaps we are in a discovery phase with new technologies and techniques...
Perhaps we are at a turning point in societal and cultural aspiration...

We invite participation from designers, artists, musicians, sociologists, theoreticians, and educators, with a special focus on new media and electronic art alongside interaction and critical design.

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