Chief Minister to Inaugurate Dec 16-17 Kochi Design Week

KOCHI:
The Kochi Design Week (KDW) will begin on Friday with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurating the two-day summit that aims at enabling providing first-hand knowledge about international-level models and trends in the fast-emerging field.

Being hosted by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the December 16-17 KDW at Bolgatty Island will bring together innovators from across the globe to disrupt, imagine, ideate, innovate and design for a better tomorrow. The opening ceremony, at 10 a.m. in Bolgatty Convention Centre, will be addressed by state Minister of Law, Industries and Coir P. Rajeev, besides Infosys Co-founder S.D. Shibulal, World Design Council Chair Paula Gazzard and Jain University Vice-Chancellor J. Latha. KSUM Chief Executive Officer Anoop Ambika will welcome the gathering, while Asset Homes Managing Director Sunil V. will propose thanks.

KDW-3 will feature panel discussions and talks on 21 subjects. Experts will, on the first day, talk on sessions titled Cognitive Processes in Design, Design: The Opportunities for Kerala, Design for Larger Change, Design Transformation for Tomorrow, Design Experience to Experience Design, Capacity Building for a World-Class Design Ecosystem, Designing a Powerful Content Creation Strategy, Creative Future in Art & Design, Designing for Belonging in a Post-Pandemic Hybrid World.

The second day will hold sessions on Future of AVGC in India, Capacity Building in the AVGC sector, From Concept to Completion: The Role of VFX in Storytelling, Paradigm Shift in Car Design: Renault Story, The Design Future of Kochi, Making India Travel Again: The UX Story and Looking Back-and-Forth 9 Statements, while the post-lunch subjects will be Narrative in Designing, The Impact of Good Design & Quality Management, Future Design Trends in the Real Estate Sector, Design for Startups and Industries and Untapped Potential & Creating a Global Ecosystem for Malayalam Movie Industry.

Overall, the two days will see around 50 speakers. They include Shri Hibi Eden, MP, KSIDC Managing Director Shri S. Harikishore, Kochi Biennale Foundation President Shri Bose Krishnamachari, Kerala Digital University Vice-Chancellor Dr Saji Gopinath, Dr Emma Roberts of Liverpool John Moores University, Malayalam filmmaker B. Unnikrishnan, influencer Major Ravi and actor Vinay Forrt.

KDW-3 will be open to the public from evenings on both days, enabling visitors to see, besides a design fair, entertainment programmes such as a music nite and live telecast of World Cup Football on the giant screen. On Friday, KDW-3 is hosting four cultural programmes: experimental music by Thaikoodam Bridge, ethnic Sopanasangeetam, The Lost Circus and Rhythm. The weekend evening will host a music show by Thakara band, chendamelam ensemble and a programme by the Green Folium band, besides the loser’s finals of the FIFA cup.

The fair at KDW-3 will put on display products made of cloth, wood and leather, showing a whole range of design and the newest trends in the field. The items, which are by designers from within the state, can be bought, KDW-3 Head (Operations & Partnerships).

Also, 22 installations of varying size and sensibilities will be on display at the scenic venue. The installations have been curated by architect Asif Ahmed.

KDW-3 is poised to witness a gathering of more than 25,000 delegates, comprising design professionals, architects, interior designers, thought leaders, policymakers, government officials and general public. The festival is being held in partnership with national and international industry bodies such as World Design Organisation, World Design Council and IIID (Indian Institute of Interior Designers).

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.