Twilight Talks about design focus on material innovation

Designing a sustainable Scotland is the focus of the latest in a series of Twilight Talks about Design this autumn.

Led by John Ennis of Journeys in Design, an expert panel of four speakers will explore the potential of material innovation, community and the circular economy on Thursday 14 November 2019 at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios.

Established in 2014, Twilight Talks about Design is the longest-running set of free, independent public talks tailored specifically to design in Scotland.

Each talk aims to stimulate discussion of the broader role of design in the cultural landscape, hosting key speakers with an international perspective and taking themes from local to global and back.

The four panellists for Material Innovation and Our Circular Economy on Thursday 14 November are Lynn Wilson (circular economy consultant and UN Chair on circular economy), Trish Belford (Senior Research Fellow at the Art and Design Institute at Ulster University International), Marnie Collins (Assistant Professor of Textile and Design at HWU School of Textiles and Design) and John Ferguson (Founder of East Africa Sisal Midlothian). Each will address a different aspect of the evening’s theme.

The November Twilight Talk will be opened by Robin Harper OBE, the first MSP to represent the Green Party and now Honorary Vice-President of the Arboricultural Association.

John Ennis of Journeys in Design

He said: ‘We have reached the stage in materials development when it is clear from the condition of our rivers and seas, we need to abandon our experiment of polluting with plastics and go back to continuing the development of natural, fibre-based materials in which humanity has 5,000 to 6,000 years’ experience.’

John Ennis of Journeys in Design added: ‘We all want to walk more lightly on the Earth .Sustainable design could be part of our efforts. Earth has been designing pretty well for millennia so we should be co-designing with the planet.’

All Twilight Talks about Design are free to attend but as places are limited, booking in advance via Eventbrite is essential.

The November talk is allied with the exhibition and event series Our Linen Stories currently running at Dovecot Studios Tapestry Viewing Balcony until January 2020.

ead more about the panel of experts and book your free ticket via Eventbrite by visiting: http://ow.ly/uz8J50wVsig

As the door opens at 5.30pm on Thursday 14 November, ticketholders for the Twilight Talk about Design will have to opportunity to view the allied Our Linen Stories exhibition before the talk on the Tapestry Studio Viewing Balcony.

Normal opening hours until Saturday 25 January 2020 are – Monday to Friday: noon-3pm, Saturday 10.30am-5.30pm. Admission is free.

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