Signals from the Periphery

We are surrounded by graphic design everywhere, from traffic signs and billboards to books and websites. Consequently, being located somewhere between art and the advertising world, graphic design often plays an important role in determining the way we communicate information. How often do we consider the user friendliness of an application or seek an artistic touch in an advertising campaign?

Tallinn Art Hall invited two graphic designers, Elisabeth Klement and Laura Pappa to curate the exhibition. Since 2011 Klement and Pappa have been organising the Asterisk Summer School in Tallinn, which studies the peripheries of graphic design. Based on their professional interest, the curators have chosen to display works most of which break the traditional boundaries of graphic design practices. Besides publications and websites, the exhibition also displays installations, video works, furniture, industrial design, music etc.

“The exhibition at the Tallinn Art Hall showcases projects and works that surpass traditional forms of graphic design, while also shedding light on the notable practices behind these projects. These works include commissioned projects as well as initiatives where graphic designers, often in collaboration with individuals from other cultural fields, produce independent work,” the curators explain in the booklet accompanying the exhibition.

Elisabeth Klement specifically highlights the Group Affinity benches designed by Manuel Raeder for the Kunstverein München Summer School: “These benches are a fascinating example of work that has its roots in both graphic and furniture design, but it also has a social dimension. An important aspect in the case of these simple benches is that they are always made of the leftover materials of past exhibitions or events.”

Therefore, rather than focusing on commissioned identities and solutions, the exhibition is centred on self-initiated practices and their outcomes. Contributions by almost 100 local and international designers and groups are organised in six thematic categories: objects and products, typography, publishing, tools, music, as well as spaces, events and projects.

On 1 July at 2 pm, the curators will conduct a guided tour of the exhibition. Participating in the tour is possible with a valid exhibition ticket. Register by writing to: publik@kunstihoone.ee

From 10 to 16 July, an extensive public programme will run including workshops, film screenings, lectures and book launches. Further information: http://www.signalsfromtheperiphery.ee/et/#programm

In addition to the exhibition and public programme at the Tallinn Art Hall, Signals from the Periphery also includes a satellite exhibition at the EAA gallery as well as a book accompanying the project.

Participating artists: 019, A School For Design Fiction, Åbäke, Timur Akhmetov, Apparition of the Ampersand, Bart de Baets, David Bennewith, Emilia Bergmark, Bold Decisions, Bom Dia Boa Tarde Boa Noite, The Book Society, Kevin Bray, Bulletins of The Serving Library, Colophon.info, Jef Cuypers, Dark & Stormy, De Stihl, Dent-de-Leone, Dexter Sinister, Dinamo, Jaan Evart, Experimental Jetset, Émilie Ferrat, Evening Class, fanfare, Fatype, Four Corners Books, Luca Frei, Paul Gangloff, Corinne Gisel, Rudy Guedj, Hackers & Designers, Will Holder, JOHANN 3000, Studio Puckey, Jung-Lee Type Foundry, Carl-Robert Kagge, Sandra Kassenaar, Kirjatehnika, Mathew Kneebone, Knock! Knock! Books, Christoph Knoth, Know-How / Show-How, KULENTURATO, James Langdon, The Last Books, Studio Laurenz Brunner, Lotte Schröder, Lugemik, M–L–XL, Studio Manuel Raeder, Karel Martens, Maximage, Janna Meeus & Hilde Meeus, Niklaus Mettler, Ott Metusala, Niko Mihaljević, Moniker, Multistab, Niessen & de Vries, Daniel K Y Norregaard, Officin, Onomatopee, OPS Type, Norman Orro, Or Type, Nina Paim, Paul Haworth & Sam de Groot, Brit Pavelson, Radim Peško, Ronald Pihlapson, Will Pollard, Gaile Pranckunaite, Josse Pyl, REDO, Sophie Rogg, Rollo Press, Roma Publications, RP Digital Type Foundry, Felix Salut, San Serriffe, Johannes Schwartz, Daniel Seemayer, Seventeen Playgrounds, Smoke & Dust, split/fountain, Aimur Takk, Talk Magazine, The Taste of The Brain, Jan Tomson, True True True, Lex Trueb, Uus Materjal, The Ventriloquist Summerschool, Boy Vereecken, Werker Magazine, Werkplaats Typografie