Ljubljana, 1 December 2008 – Member States of the Regional Partnership “Platform Culture – Central Europe” participated among others in the Biennale Internationale du Design organised in Saint-Étienne, France, within the framework of the French EU Presidency. The exhibitors introduced themselves with the “Real-World Laboratory” at the Cité du Design.  The concept and coordination of the project were provided by the Polish representatives.

Alpina ECS & ECL cross-country ski boots by designer Jure Miklavc (Photo: Barbara Predan)

The thrust of the presentation was design approached from two completely different angles, but linked by a common topic.  The objective was to find conventionally designed products in regular production, on the one hand, along with experimental products on the other.  Slovenia’s presentation was based on the design of shoes.  The chosen designers were Jure Miklavc, with his latest model of the Alpina ECS & ECL cross-country ski boots, and the Oloop Collective (Tjaša Bavcon, Katja Burger and Jasmina Ferček) with their Flying Sneakers (Leteči copati) project.  The curator of the Slovenian part of the exhibition was Barbara Predan.

Besides the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, the Regional Partnership “Platform Culture – Central Europe” also comprises the ministries of foreign affairs of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Catalogue of the “Real-World Laboratory" exhibition