Some 62,000 visitors took part in the 86 different events organized during Design Month Graz (Designmonat Graz) in Austria, held from May 1 to 31 2015, and to which Montréal was invited as a guest of honour. For the occasion, the exhibition “I Was There: Montréal Meets Graz” presented the multiple facets of Montréal to visitors through immersive installations. A Bixi bike, clotheslines and a Tempo carport were among the iconic pieces included to convey “Montréalité” to visitors.
In addition, products by 40 Montréal designers included in the CODE SOUVENIR MONTRÉAL catalogue were shown in the exhibition, while six of those creators took part in a trade mission aimed at developing their networks of business contacts and creating market opportunities. The items featured in the exhibition were kindly provided by the Montréal designers to the charity Caritas, which displayed them for sale at Carla&Paul boutique in Graz. Half of the proceeds will go to support Caritas’s youth projects, while the other half will benefit Syrian refugee children through a project initiated by Severin Zotter
Moreover, the product designer Guillaume Sasseville was one of the artists honoured at the prestigious interior design show Selected, presented in Graz as part of Design Month. Mr. Sasseville was among a delegation of Montréal designers in the Austrian city to take part in the exhibition “I Was There: Montréal Meets Graz”. The Selected show brought together 52 great names in design, including emerging creators, and provided an opportunity for Mr. Sasseville to present “Verre commun” (Common Glass), the project that he completed with support from the Phyllis Lambert Grant, awarded to him in 2011. The prestigious Selected show features innovative design concepts that are ready to be marketed. Designed in Graz, “Verre commun” was inspired by the glass tumblers produced in Montréal’s industrial heyday in the early 20th century. Mr. Sasseville spent several weeks in the Austrian city, which like Montréal is a UNESCO City of Design, to immerse himself in the ancestral know-how of Austrian glassmakers.
