A display by M.Des students from the Department of Art & Design
'We seek the involuntary beauty of the ephemeral'
Christo & Jeanne Claude, 2002
In the recent past our sense of place has fundamentally changed. The way in which those who lived on or worked with the land has been transformed so rapidly that, within a generation, many areas of traditional skills and knowledge have completely disappeared, particularly through urban migration. For many communities, this has given rise to a schism between generations and a fear that their culture has been left behind - or bears no contemporary relevance. The United Nations agency 'UNESCO' has recently recognised the importance of traditional knowledge and cultural practices by ratifying the 'Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage'.
The need to understand and communicate the most fragile aspects of our collective identities is, on the whole, only applied to distinct and non-metropolitan communities. This winter session class in design studies therefore investigated innovative ways of communicating cultural knowledge and practices as part of the dynamic social vibrancy within a modern urban environment. It suggested a potential responsibility for design students is to take on such sensibilities by investigating what our intangible cultural knowledge can offer the future development of a multi-cultural city like Edmonton.
The five students from this Winter Session course will be present to talk about their work from 4.30 to 5.30 on Friday the 8th.
The exhibit is in the corridor space to the right after the main reception. This is the beginning of an ongoing collaboration between Edmonton Public Library and the Department of Art & Design
Exhibition Date: 8th - 29th April, 2011
Location: Edmonton Public Library, Churchill Square.