Toronto Design Week 2011 : Come up to my room

January 27 - 30 '11

Gladstone Hotel
Toronto

Further to our previous featured show in the forthcoming Toronto Design Week / Toronto Design Offsite, here is another which caught our attention. 'Come Up To My Room' is an annual alternative design event, in which selected designers are invited to take over spaces in the Gladstone Hotel, creating bespoke installations and responses within the historic building. The show features 11 room installations, 14 public space projects, and 44 artists and designers.

Now in it's eighth year, 'Come Up To My Room' continues to be generate excitement in the Tornoto design scene and beyond. The experimental approach guarantees surprises for what is in store, as although the public space projects are created in consultation with the curators, the room installations are developed with free reign by the chosen designers.

This years show is brought together and curated by independent curator Deborah Wang and Jeremy Vandermeij, co-founder of Public Displays of Affection, a local community engaged design enterprise and Creative Director at the Gladstone Hotel.

In addition to the work on show, 'Come Up To My Room' features a talk entitled 'What to do', in which organizers of Toronto’s Design Offsite will look at what’s next in Toronto design, design communities, exhibition making, collaboration, and more.

Below is an interview with curator Deborah Wang in which she shares her thoughts on the design scene in Toronto. Following that are images of the resulting creations from the 2010 edition of 'Come Up To My Room.'

Come up to my room
Toronto Design Offsite
Toronto International Design Festival

Pieces by Propellor (ceiling),Margaret Pryde (left), Edward Lin and Kira Varvanina (rear)

Richard Unterthiner and Paolo Ferrari

Bruno Billio and Orest Tataryn

Lisa Keophila, Fiona Lim Tung, Kristen Lim Tung and Jon Margono

Berkeley Poole and Jamie Webster

Jennifer Davis and Jamie Phelan

Bed Trap