For the second year running, I hopped down to leafy Kensington for It’s Nice That’s annual one-day symposium ‘Here’, which explores process and ideas across the art and design world.
Hosted, again, in the Royal Geographical Society (just along from the Royal Albert Hall), the day was full of inspirational (and often hilarious in the case of Eric Yahnker) discussions and presentations by some of the most creative people swinging in the world of art, design, film and fashion. If you’re into your design ephemera, the amount of stuff they stick in the goodie bag is almost worth the admission alone.
Highlights of the day included Marion Deuchars, the directorial duo Lernert & Sander and Marina Wilner. Admittedly I bailed just before the wonderful Christoph Niemann’s closing talk. However, a mixture of having seen him speak recently at the AGI Open (Barbican, September 2013) and the temptation of catching some of the afternoon sun before meeting friends across town meant I cut class early. Sorry Christoph, maybe next time!
To watch some of 2013’s presentations, head over to the website First Broadcast. I thoroughly recommend Wayne Hemingway, Kate Moross and Mark Porter’s. I’m sure they’ll stick up this year’s footage when it emerges.
I’d heartily recommend getting involved in something like this for young creatives and seasoned professionals alike. Make sure you plug the gaps between the big conferences by getting along to local design-related events such as A Feral Studio or Long Lunch, to name a few.