As part of the annual graduate exhibition of the School of Design and Innovation, this year a unique exhibition titled "Chairs of Hope" is on display. This exhibition, a special installation within the main exhibit, features works from graduates of all years since the school’s inception.
Curated by designer Michal Kastiel, "Chairs of Hope" explores the connection between two iconic Israeli concepts. One is the "Keter Chair," a cultural icon in Israeli society for over three decades. The other is "hope," a concept ingrained in the national psyche, from the national anthem to its role as a key word in a country perpetually between crisis and conflict. Through the disruption and alteration of chairs, the exhibition invites viewers to explore how we understand, respond to, and interpret the concept of hope, examining how a commonplace symbol like a chair can become an object of disruptive intervention, evoking emotion and optimism.
The designers featured in the exhibition are graduates from all years of the School of Design and Innovation at the College of Management Academic Studies. The installation is part of the school's final project exhibition "Copy Paste," where fourth-year students showcase their best works. Naturally, this year’s projects were heavily influenced by the impacts of the war.
Michal Kastiel, curator of the exhibition and head of the Visual Communication specialization in Interior Spaces, as well as a lecturer at the School of Design and Innovation, stated: "'Chairs of Hope' is a cultural disruption installation that strives for optimism in this chaotic and painful period. By tracing the 'disruptions' in the exhibition, we can see how they become a critical and integral source of the concept the exhibition deals with: they infuse hope."
Udi Sagi, CEO of Keter, noted: "In recent years, we have seen how the Israeli icon—the Keter Chair—has become a powerful symbol in the fight for women's health and breast cancer and, for the past nine months, a symbol for the return of captives. This is a testament to the power of design to create significant social change. The 'Chairs of Hope' project is an excellent example of collaboration with the next generation of Israeli designers, demonstrating how creativity and innovation can support important social causes. Keter is proud to join hands with the Israeli academy to promote important initiatives in the fields of environmental quality, innovation, and design."
"Chairs of Hope" is open to the public at Building T, College of Management, 2 Eli Wiesel Street, Rishon Lezion, from July 25 to August 9, 2024. Visiting hours are Sunday-Thursday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
Among the exhibited works:
Dana Koren presents the complexity between this difficult period and the desire to transition to a period that radiates optimism and hope. The piece shows the contrast between the black color and the bright pink, symbolizing hope.Adva Avrani, Noa Dalmai, and Shaked Berlinstadt created a work conveying positive, optimistic, and colorful messages that ease this complex period. At the center of the work, one can see a symbol of intertwined fingers representing hope and the expectation for a better time. Viewers are invited to sit, take photos, and create a bit of optimism for themselves.