Re: Moderation & ListOwnership / SYDNEY 1999 & Alessi

DEAR LIST

For some time I have been reading the list, the excellent comment and the
not so excellent. In you note Howard you mention Art and Architecture you
forget those very active design professions that dont see themselves in
either camp and that are also reading the list. Virtual space DOES have its
limmitations as you say and I for one have become a list reader not a
contributor, I like to watch as Peter Sellers once said. I am not a
bystander though, and my two major works at present besides my day to day
activities are The Alberto Alessi visit to Australia in Nonvember and the
accompanying student workshop and long into the future SYDNEY DESIGN 1999.
I have attached two brief notes that describe the events and welcome any
comments and enquiries.

Keep up the good work Howard Regards Ron Newman

The University of New South Wales
College of Fine Arts, School of Design Studies
Visit Of Dr Alberto Alessi to Australia - November 1995

The University of New South Wales, College of Fine Arts, School of Design
Studies and Ventura Design, distributors of Alessi products in Australia,
are organising the visit to Australia in November 1995 of Dr Alberto
Alessi, Principal of the Alessi Design Manufacturing Company of Italy.

The purpose of the visit by Dr Alessi will be to open the public exhibition
of the 1995 graduates of the UNSW Bachelor of Design, to open a public
exhibition of Alessi products in Sydney and to conduct various public talks
and student seminars.

Tutorial Workshop
During the week commencing Monday 13th November through to Friday 24th
November the School of Design Studies UNSW will be conducting with Dr
Alessi on its Paddington Campus a design workshop for 20 design students
selected from design colleges around Australia and from the UNSW Bachelor
of Design course.  The workshop will be lead by Ms Carol Longbottom,
lecturer at UNSW and Ms Susan Cohn the only Australian designer to have an
Alessi product in production.  The final projects produced within the
workshop will be exhibited to the public.

Student Seminars
Two student seminars will be held, one in Sydney at The University of New
South Wales and one in Melbourne at the Swinbourne University of
Technology.

These seminars which will be limited in size will offer students from all
universities the opportunity to hear a short talk by Dr Alessi and then to
interact with Dr Alessi asking questions relating to the designers, he
works with, and the Alessi company.

Public Talks
Two public talks will be held on Tuesday 14th November and on Wednesday
15th November in Sydney and Melbourne respectively.  These talks will be
held at significant venues capable of seating around 500 people and will be
open to the public.  A small charge will be made.

Alessi Exhibition
An exhibition of Alessi products will be held at the Ivan Dougherty
Gallery, the public gallery of The University of New South Wales, on the
College of Fine Arts campus in Paddington on the edge of the Sydney CBD.
This exhibition will be open to the public through to the end of January
1996. A second showing of the exhibition will take place in Melbourne in
the RMIT gallery from mid February to the end of March 1996.

The UNSW Alessi Australian tour has the support of various universities
around Australia, the Design Institute of Australia and the Australian
Academy of Design.

For further information regarding the 1995 Alessi visit please contact:
Associate Professor  Ron Newman, telephone:  61 2 385 0766, fax:  61 2 385
0706, email:  r.newman@xxxxxxxxxxx,
or  Mr Claudio Ventura of Ventura Design, telephone:  61 2 555 7277, fax:
61 2 555 7278.

A Report on the progress of
Sydney Design 1999
19th April 1995

OVERVIEW
The Design Institute of Australia has been for the last 15 months preparing
to host the combined conferences and congresses of the three international
societies representing industrial (ICSID), graphic (ICOGRADA) and interior
design (IFI), in Sydney in late September 1999.

Sydney Design 99 promises to be the largest and most important design event
ever held in Australia or anywhere in the southern hemisphere.

Sydney Design 99 has been strategically planned to be a wide ranging event
including a major public exhibition of design, the theme of which will be a
review of world design innovation throughout the 20th century , an
intellectually stimulating conference aimed at the global professional
design industry, with special ancillary conference and forum programs
developed for design education, business and manufacturing industries,
exporters, the general public and all levels of government.  In addition to
all of these conference activities, the three international design
organisations will hold their biennial General Assemblies.

When the DIA bid for this design event in August 1993, the outcome of the
Sydney 2000 Olympic bid was not known.  The successful outcome of Olympics
bid will make the Sydney Design 99 event even more attractive to the world
design profession who will be vitally interested to learn more about the
design related developments for the Olympics.  The exciting solutions
developed by Australian designers for the Sydney 2000 Olympics will
significantly enhance the universal appeal of program for Sydney Design.

BACKGROUND
An agreement to host the Congresses of ICSID (industrial design) and
ICOGRADA (graphic design) was secured in August 1993 at the Joint
International Congress in Glasgow. The Board and General Assemblies of both
organisations supported our bid.

Our bid to host the IFI Conference and General Assembly (interior) was well
received, however it was felt by the Board of IFI that the interests of
interior designers were not equitably represented at the Glasgow
Conference.  As a result they decided to not to vote, in 1993, on the
location of their 1999 Conference and General Assembly and to defer until
1995.

We are obliged to routinely make further more detailed presentations to
each of the three international design organisations at their biennial
Conferences and General Assemblies in 1995 and 1997.

BID ORGANISATION AND FUNDING TO DATE
The Design Institute of Australia funded the research, preparation and
actual bidding process during 1993, and has continued to support liaison
and various other activities.  The Australia Graphic Design Association was
admitted to membership of ICOGRADA in 1993 and has now joined DIA in an
organising role.  AGDA will be represented on the Steering Committee and
several of the organising sub committees.

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR FOCUSING THE DESIGN AGENDA
Sydney Design 99 represents the best opportunity ever in Australia for the
professional design industry to focus the countries attention on the vital
contribution design can make to the economy, the quality of life and the
environment.

The National Design Review which has been proceeding since August 1994,
will be released shortly by Federal government Minister, the Hon Peter
Cook.  The many recommendations and programs which will be implemented will
produce measurable results in the period 1995 to 1999.  Federal and State
Governments have through the importance and scale of the Sydney Design 99
event, an ideal opportunity to showcase these recent advancements and the
level of sophistication in the Australian design industry.  The attention
of the world design community will be on Australia in 1999.  Just as the
Barcelona Olympics made a dramatic change to the success of Spanish product
exports and lifted the status of the Spanish design industry, the fortunate
combination of Sydney Design 99 and the Sydney 2000 Olympics offer
Australia an even greater opportunity.

In many ways design has been on the agenda in Australia over the past
decade, however much of the activity has been poorly co-ordinated and has
not focused on commercial outcomes, but rather on aesthetic considerations.
Sydney Design 99 will provide the design profession with the vehicle with
which to redirect the broadest public understanding and appreciation of
design onto issues relating to the "benefits of design".

PROPOSED PROGRAM/THEMES
In its 1993 bid and in subsequent communication, the DIA proposed to the
three international organisations that the dawn of the next millennium
provided the 1999 Joint Conference with an opportunity which should be
capitalised on.

BREAKTHROUGH DESIGN IN THE 20TH CENTURY
In 1993 we proposed a theme which would see all participating countries and
member organisations research the 20th Century of design in their country.
We plan to invite each member organisation to choose the most significant
design of each decade of the century, in their discipline, in their home
country.  For example, the German ICOGRADA member organisation would review
graphic design in Germany and would select the item considered to be the
most influential for 1900 to 1910, 1910 to 1920 etc.  Information providing
background to the development of the design and the designer would be
supplied along with a sample, photograph, or other representation.

With material gathered across all member organisations, in all disciplines
and sent well in advance to Sydney, the greatest ever resource of design
history would be established for use by the conference.

The intention is that this material be curated by the Powerhouse Museum, a
major collector of design in Sydney and an internationally respected
institution, and will be designed and developed into a major design
exhibition by the museum. The exhibition would form the basis for
intellectual stimulus for the design conference.  Speakers will analyse the
process of creating breakthrough design in each discipline, with reference
to the vast resource of 20th century design.

The legacy of process of gathering together the 20th century of design,
will be an exhibition which will be a major attraction to the general
public, education, and industry.  Obviously, sectors with a design interest
will be thoroughly engaged by this exhibition.


In summary, the turn of the century offers and opportunity for serious
review of the past 100 years with a view to inspiring increased
understanding of the environment and intellectual processes required to
achieve breakthrough design.

DESIGN INNOVATION IN THE NEXT CENTURY
The conference should not just look backwards, but must give equal emphasis
to looking ahead with confidence, creativity and vision.  "Workshops"
within the conference would be organised to allow the delegates to consider
the direction of future concepts, what are the issues of the next
generations or the next 100 years, which can if appropriate be exhibited as
part of the Powerhouse Museum Exhibition.  The "workshop" development and
production of these forward looking concepts could be televised globally.

Significant resources will be created out of the exhibition and the
conference.  It is a goal of the DIA to widely publish the intellectual
property of Sydney Design 99 in a variety of media and formats.  It is
planned that the majority of the exhibits submitted from the overseas
member organisations will form a resource for touring exhibitions, both
large and small.

DESIGN AND THE SYDNEY 2000 OLYMPICS
The second theme of the conference would be "Design and the Sydney 2000
Olympics"  This part of the overall program would involve the presentation
of a wide range of design work done especially for the event.  Australia's
innovations in the social aspects of the bid which was known as the "green
bid", what will be the innovations in graphics, interiors, architecture,
products, these issues would all be covered in exciting new case studies by
the designers responsible.

Tours of Olympic facilities will provide interesting highlights for
delegates taking outside of the conference centre in Sydney. Looking back
at previous Olympic Games, it is possible to see an accelerated emergence
of confidence and success in the local design industry.

We in Australia must ensure that the build up to Sydney Design 99 and the
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games includes broad dissemination of the "benefits
from design" and the world competitiveness of Australian designers.


OTHER ATTRACTIONS BEFORE AND AFTER - STAY LONGER
The DIA recognises the importance of arranging other attractions at the
front and back end of the conference, in order to assist and encourage
delegates to stay longer than 4 or 5 days of the conference, thereby
amortising the airfare cost and lengthy travel time across a 2 to 3 week
stay in Australia.

Our proposals have allowed for inclusion of special travel and
accommodation packages for holidays at well known holiday destinations at
either end of the event.  DIA has also proposed that other design related
attractions be timetabled in other states to allow delegates to continue
"design business" whilst visiting other regions.  The recent news that
there is a bid in Auckland to host a visual arts and design educators
conference possibly in the week after Sydney Design 99 adds a further
attraction.

THE ORGANISATION TO DATE
We have already commenced promoting Sydney Design 99 according to this
plan, and consider that it is vital that all publicity for the event
(especially at this early stage) encourages delegates to block off a
substantial period of weeks in September/October 99 for "the design event
of the century" - not to me missed. Everyone who hears or reads about
Sydney Design 99 must understand that this is NOT  " just another design
conference".

The DIA has brought together Australian designers from many and varied
professional disciplines and from the various representative design
organisations and has established an organising committee. The DIA has
appointed Professor Ron Newman chair of this organising committee.
Professor Newman has been a member of the DIA for 21 years and is currently
a fellow of the Institute, as well as a well known  designer who practices
in the areas of product, and entertainment design with work being installed
and manufactured internationally. Professor Newman maintains a design
practice, is a principal in a small manufacturing company and is Head of
the School of Design Studies at The University of New South Wales in
Sydney.

All enquiries regarding this report should be direct to Associate Professor
Ron Newman
Telephone 61 2 385 0766  Facsimile 61 2 385 0706 Email r.newman@xxxxxxxxxxx



A/Prof Ron Newman
Head, School of Design Studies
College of Fine Art
The University of New South Wales
Australia
Phone: +612 385-0766
Fax:   +612 385-0706