MESH | Festival of Creativity - the report
AMSTERDAM, 12 APRIL 2018
On Friday March 23, ADCN opened the first-ever MESH Festival of Creativity. Hosted in collaboration with curator Gijs Stork and housed in the stylised industrial spaces of a developing Amsterdam Noord, MESH launched as an all-discipline event in celebration of Dutch design culture, from advertising and design, architecture and fashion, film and photography, technology and art and other fields.
How to snapshot creativity? MESH saw the halls of Atelier van Mellius filled floor to ceiling with works from a smattering of local talent. Some were instantly recognizable, like …,staat’s Delicata packaging design for Albert Heijn, and the hefty pink posters for Ed Van Der Elsken’s last showing at Stedelijk, by Mevis & Van Deursen.
More intimate projects offered balance; think Pregnant Studios’ ‘Meat’ in the experimental category, and upscale photography like Eddo Hartmann’s ‘Setting the Stage’, commissioned for the likes of Museum Huis Marseille. Dance fans enjoyed artist Valentijn Crouwel’s light and sound installation, feeling very much like a city nightspot and titled ‘Only In Japan’. Environment was a hot theme, with many works borne of environmental challenge and the shift to sustainable design.
The exhibition also announced the nominees of the ADCN Awards 2018. Upcoming talent was also represented, with students from Willem de Kooning Academy, Design Academy Eindhoven, Gerrit Rietveld Academie and ArtEZ adding to the creative mix.
Neighbouring Hotel de Goudfazant made way for a curated line-up of speakers from the city’s creative community. Lady in Blu, Antoinette van den Berg presented together with Mariette Hoitink from HTNK, opening the floor for a conversation on creativity in fashion. MESH spilled over to two-screen cinema FC Hyena, which aired loops of film, music/sound, animation and VFX work from the Advertising – Film & Video and Craft awards categories.
Thanks to the following people & partners:
Gijs Stork - Curator
Heineken
Tiger Beer
Desperados
Panasonic Nederland
BeamSystems
New Amsterdam Film Company
Hans Boodt Mannequins
Atelier van Mellius
Hotel de Goudfazant
FC Hyena Hangar Amsterdam
See you next year at MESH!
Writer: Miranda Wade
Photography: Nina Albada Jelgersma