LOS ANGELES - Sept. 1, 2020 - The 10th Annual LA Design Festival is excited to announce that Squarespace has joined the festival as presenting sponsor. Squarespace empowers millions of creators, thinkers, and doers with the tools they need to bring their unique ideas to life. The company's dynamic all-in-one platform allows users to easily build a website, claim a domain, sell online, and market a brand.
"We are thrilled to partner with LA Design Festival to celebrate its 10th anniversary and the vibrant design community it supports. As a brand focused on helping bring creative ideas to life, we're excited to highlight the amazing talent participating in the festival, and look forward to being a part of the conversation surrounding the evolution and future of design,"said David Lee, Chief Creative Officer, Squarespace.
"Like Squarespace, the LA Design Festival's mission is to foster creative culture. We look forward to distance celebrating with Los Angeles and the world at-large this year which would not be possible without the support of such future-forward partners," added Haily Zaki, founder of the LA Design Festival.
While this is the first year that the Festival's program will be completely virtual, the 2020 program will feature the annual signature events, including the LA Design Festival Awards Night and Design Block Party, installations, talks, workshops, and project tours.
Each year, the LA Design Festival awards outstanding creative talent. The ICON Award recognizes the iconic women who have made an indelible mark on Los Angeles, culture, and society in general through their work, character, and creative leadership. The EDGE Award recognizes exciting new talent. The 2020 ICON recipient is Frances Anderton, host of DnA: Design and Architecture on KCRW, author, curator, and LA's widely recognized doyenne of design.
"I feel very imperfect and this is truly an honor," said Frances Anderton. "LA is a place of boundless creativity and I am lucky to be one of its narrators. I am especially thankful for this award since I'm now I'm at that bizarre stage in life where some of the stories I covered 25 years ago are newly relevant again!"
2020 EDGE recipients include graphic designer Monica Ahanonu, ceramicist Eunbi Cho, furniture designer Stephen Kenn, and body architect Lucy McRae. The Awards Night will be held in conjunction with the Design Block Party virtually via Zoom, and co-hosted by creative counselors and community designers We Must Be Bold. This interactive and experimental experience will include music performances curated by Lawrence Azerrad and Spencer Tweedy, modern dance performance by MashUp Contemporary Dance Company, and more.
LA Design Festival returns to ROW DTLA with a series of vitrines, or window installations. INTRO / LA returns with its sixth iteration featuring revered LA designers such as Atelier de Troupe, Block Shop Textiles, and Brendan Ravenhill. Object Permanence presents a special show that focuses on a two dimensional objet; the protest poster. Multi-disciplinary Studio Left creates Shell, a special installation that plays with structure and skin. LightRiders illuminates a storefront with TunnelVision, a special lighting experience meant to transport viewers to destinations unknown. LA Design Festival debuts the "Design for the Future" vitrines, featuring notable independent artists, designers and brands who embody LA's creative spirit and a future-facing ethos. ROW DTLA continues as supporting sponsor and anchor host for the citywide celebration for the fifth year in a row. Vitrines will be on view via virtual tour or in-person at ROW DTLA through September 27.
Design, etc., the LA Design Festival's series of design conversations, returns covering the gamut of topics including collaborating virtually on remote productions with Squarespace's Sandra Nam and Gui Borchert, Hugh Weber and Forest Young on a vision for tomorrow, the Future of Restaurants, the Future of Workplace, Unearthing the Black Aesthetic, the Future of AR with Snapchat, and Creative Coalescence, a talk with director Michelle Craig, production designer Freyja Bardell, and director Jake Nava, whose latest project was "Spirit," and featured in Black is King.
Workshops range from a Drink & Draw session with EDGE recipient Monica Ahanonu and AMASS, a virtual tie-dye class with Crave Workshops, a showcase in website design with Squarespace, and a sound bath with Forestkind to end the weekend.
Project tours range from the Future of Housing, to street art and studio tours. LA Design Festival also introduces a new series of "Out and About" tours with notable Angelenos; a chance to see LA through their respective eyes. 2020 Out and About hosts include acclaimed architect Steven Ehrlich, multihyphenate and urban farming expert Jamie Renee Williams, and architects Frank Escher and Ravi Gunewardena.
LA Design Festival also features a robust offsite or citywide program of community-driven virtual events. Featured events include the Female Design Council's virtual exhibition "Evolved Resolve" powered by InCollect, In Good Taste: Signature Cocktail Hour & Documentary Viewing Party with TEALEAVES, a studio tour with fiber artist Susan Maddux, a Los Angeles mini-series of Spotlight with Zahid Sardar, a virtual tour of the famed Wave House, and more.
With the exception of some of the workshops, all LA Design Festival events are free and open to the public but registration is required. Registration opens today at www.ladesignfestival.org.
For more information and high-res images, contact hello@ladesignfestival.org.
ABOUT THE LA DESIGN FESTIVAL
The LA Design Festival honors our city's design culture and celebrates our status as a global design capital. Our definition of design is purposely broad to ensure that our festival is reflective of LA's diversity and talent. From architecture and interiors to graphic, industrial, fashion, set, costume, and experiential design, the LA Design Festival embodies the creative spirit that makes the City of Angels such fertile ground for experimentation, innovation, and discovery. For more information, visit www.ladesignfestival.org.
ABOUT SQUARESPACE
Squarespace empowers millions of dreamers, makers, and doers by providing them with the tools they need to bring their creative ideas to life. On Squarespace's dynamic all-in-one platform, customers can claim a domain, build a website, sell online, and market a brand. Our suite of products combines cutting-edge design and world-class engineering, making it easier than ever to establish and own your online presence. Founded in 2003, Squarespace's team of more than 1000 is headquartered in downtown NYC, with offices in Dublin and Portland. For more information, visit www.squarespace.com.
ABOUT ROW DTLA
Located on the edge of the expanding Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, ROW DTLA is a community, a place for and by a collective of bold creatives, change-makers, risk-takers, entrepreneurs and forward thinkers. The thirty-acre district and its historic, industrial series of buildings have evolved into a walkable urban environment. For more information, visit www.rowdtla.com.
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