Picks of the month: the best design events to catch in February

Summit: The World Around Summit 2022, at the Guggenheim

As the world grapples with the climate crisis, experts from design and architecture will be convening at the Guggenheim to discuss the pressing issues of the day in relation to some recent projects. Design Earth will be discussing The Planet After Geoengineering, a graphic novel that uses storytelling to bring to life climate engineering and its controversies. Also speaking is Senegalese collective Top Manta, who began designing their own clothes after learning how to make fake designer items in Barcelona. You can access the summit virtually.

The World Around Summit takes place 5 February, and you can register for free streaming on its website.

Exhibition: Silk to Silicon, at the Backlit Gallery

Designer Sebastian Koseda is brining a mix of graphics, woven textiles and moving image to Nottingham’s Backlit Gallery this month to explore the tensions at the heart of the automation movement. The time frame is vast: from the 1770s to the present day. In 1779, the Luddites waged war against machinery as their craft was under threat, Koseda explains. He continues: “Nearly 250 years later, the ghost of Ned Ludd haunts us, his looms weave repeat patterns as we behold the 4th industrial revolution. Are we to witness a luddite revivalism?” Expect to see a robot that can draw self-portraits, as well as an examination of the punchard from automated silk waving to the creation of the world’s first computer.

Silk to Silicon is open 25 February–27 March at the Backlit Gallery in Nottingham. You can find out more information on the exhibition’s website.

Workshop: Code your own adventure, at the Design Museum

Is it ever too young to learn to code? This February half term, interaction designer Joe Hoole is leading a coding day-long workshop where young people (from school years 7-9) can create their own piece of interactive fiction. It may be of particular interest to video game fans or keen story tellers. As the museum explains, children can “learn about how coding is used to give the player the ability to choose their path”.

Code your own adventure takes place 15 February at the Design Museum, London. Tickets start at £60, and more information is available on the museum’s website.

Fair: Collect craft and design fair

Collect returns for its 18th edition in a hybrid format, bringing together some 30 international gallery exhibitions at London’s Somerset House. Presented by the Crafts Council, the fair promises pieces from the “most exciting international craft artists working today”. Visitors will be able to purchase items, or simply browse the latest in international craft.

Collect is open to the public from 25 to 27 February, at Somerset House in London. For more information, you can visit the Collect website.

Event: 3DExperience World 2022

This three-day event boasts over 300 sessions, with contributions from designers and business leaders, about hot-button topics including AR and VR. You can attend virtually to listen to any of the sessions, which include a talk by industrial studio Jason Pohl Designs about bringing inspiration into the classroom.

3DExperience World 2022 takes places 7-9 February, and registration is free. You can find out more on the event’s website.

Book: Mario Bellini. Italian Beauty: Architecture, Design, and More

This comprehensive volume looks over the almost 60-year career of Milanese architect and designer Mario Bellini. Bellini’s portfolio is vast, spanning furniture, product and interior design, and working with clients including B&B Italia, Fiat and cultural venues like New York’s Museum of Modern Art. One of his most striking designs is the 1970 Camaleonda system, an early example of the modular sofa. The retrospective is interwoven with critical commentary and a foreword from Germano Celant.

Mario Bellini. Italian Beauty: Architecture, Design, and More is published by Silvana Editoriale, and published 21 February. You can purchase it on Amazon for £24.95.