Head across the pond and research an exhibition that pays tribute to the modern impact and vision of designer and entrepreneur Sir Terence Conran. Then head into the Seattle Home Show for a number of the most up-to-date in home products — and to find out what your antiques are worth, according to Dr. Lori of Discovery Channel’s Auction Kings. Engage in a seed exchange at the Chicago Botanic Garden, then get motivated at this year’s Whitney Biennial in New York. If you’re looking for ways to be motivated or simply love getting out amid additional design lovers, here are five things to grow your imaginative calendar.
The Neil Kelly Company
TRADE SHOW — Feb. 18-26, 2012
Seattle Home Show
CenturyLink Field Event Center
1000 Occidental Ave South, Seattle, WA
Northwesterners can figure out firsthand what is hot for your home at this season’s 68th annual Seattle Home Show. Get your antiques assessed by nationally known classic historian Dr. Lori, visit the most up-to-date in building products and products from more than 500 home and garden exhibitors, or attend seminars to learn about the most recent options for home financing. The show will also include model kitchens and bathrooms, landscape screens, green living products, and plenty of home remodeling and decorating ideas.
$12 adults, $8 seniors (60+), $3 (Ages 7-15), under 7 free. Purchase tickets online here.
Photo: Neil Kelly Company
Neil Wilder
EXHIBIT — During March 4, 2012
Terence Conran: How We Live Today
Design Museum
Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD
Trace the influential career of designer and entrepreneur Sir Terence Conran in an exhibit exploring his influence on modern British lifestyle. The exhibit begins with a set from the late 1940s-’50s which includes his welded steel chairs, cloth designs, ceramics, and magazine covers, and then leads to a reconstructed room from the famous Habitat furnishing catalogues from the 1960s-’70s.
Lighting, furniture, kitchenware, packaging, design and retail design projects from different Conran Design studios are included, and you will also get a taste of his restaurant design. A re-creation of Conran’s Barton Court study provides a glimpse into his private world, along with the work of Royal College of Art graduates awarded the Conran Foundation RCA Award will be on screen, revealing how he continues to affect the emerging designers.
imagingatelier.com
LECTURE — Feb. 27, 2012, 6:30 p.m.
Architecture at the Public Realm with Philip G. Freelon
University of California, Berkeley
112 Wurster Hall Berkeley, CA
Attend a free lecture by Philip G. Freelon, president and founder of The Freelon Group as he investigates”Architecture in the Public Realm.” A number of Freelon’s notable federal projects include the Center for Civil & Human Rights, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American Culture and History, the Museum of the African Diaspora, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American Culture and History (pictured). Freelon is currently on the faculty of MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
LECTURE + BOOK SIGNING — Feb. 26, 2012
Demystifying Heirloom Gardening
Lecture + Book Signing, 2 to 3 orgasmic Alsdorf Auditorium
Seed Swap and Demonstrations, 3 to 5 p.m. Fairchild Room
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL
Join Diane Ott Whealy, expert gardener and co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange, as she shares her expertise designing and planting flowers, vegetables, and herbs. After her lecture, copies of her newest novel, Gathering, Memoir of a SeedSaver, will soon be available for purchase and signing. Afterwards, participate in a seed exchange by bringing on your stored or leftover seed packets (vegetables, fruits, and flowers) to discuss and exchange with other gardeners. Chicago Botanic Garden volunteers will be on hand displaying types recommended for Chicago-area gardens and will demonstrate how to save seeds and start them inside. Click here to register for the free lecture.
EXHIBIT — March 1 – May 27, 2012
Whitney Biennial
Emily Fisher Landau Galleries
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street New York NY
With this year’s Whitney Biennial, the fourth-floor Emily Fisher Landau Galleries will turn into a lively 6,000-square-foot performance space for music, dancing, theatre, and other events. Since 1932, the Whitney Biennial has supplied an comprehensive look at the current state of American modern art, often displaying or establishing new creative tendencies. Sculpture, painting, installations, and photography — and dancing, theater, music, and movie from a roster of artists at many different points in their professions — will for the first time take over the majority of the tradition. Portions of this display and a few apps continue through June 10. Purchase performance tickets here.
Photo: Mike Kelley (1954-2012). The Mobile Homestead at front of the abandoned Detroit Central Train Station, 2010.
What is on your calendar? Let us know in the Comments!