Art, Culture and Commerce

The title of this discussion is a nod to designers’ biographies, which often allude to working “for culture and commerce” or “in the domains of art and culture”. The chat deals with the tensions that arise in the gap between practitioners’ interests and the realities of the market. Besides a discussion of the guests’ work in relation to the theme, we touch on issues such as entrepreneuriat and precarity, the impact of the pandemic on designers’ careers and the disjunction between online presence and physical work. Utopia will also have its place: we touch on new modes of (self-)employment, the role of funding and residencies and long-term career plans.