The year 2014 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Ken Garland’s First Things First manifesto. This document called for design priorities to be changed so that design would be more useful to society. Half a century later, Garland’s demands are still valid. What has changed since then? Does London of 1964 have anything in common with Warsaw in 2014? Do we need manifestos anymore? In what way can design become more involved in social change? Answers to these questions will be sought by Ken Garland, Rick Poynor and the Metahaven duo. Manifest Fest consists of two days of lectures, discussions, events and activities, as well as the premiere of a performance by the Komuny//Warszawa theater group, titled First Things Last Things.
The event’s participants will include: Ken Garland, Anna Bloch, Metahaven, Rick Poynor, Jan Sowa, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Piotr Rypson and others.
The event is organized by Design Critique Platform.
Partners: British Council, Netherlands Embassy in Warsaw, Political Critique, BarStudio, The Westin Warsaw, Studio Theatre, AMS.
The event will be funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.