Aram is to host a flat at its London store furnished with 123 objects by 102 UK designers as it continues its efforts to promote early-career designers.
The With Limitations installation, presented as a fictional flat belonging to an emerging designer, explores the challenges, constraints and resourcefulness shaping contemporary design and reflects the spaces where many live, work and create.
Each object responds to a different limitation – whether space, budget, time, access to materials or equipment – offering an honest insight into the constraints that shape the work of independent practitioners.
Organised by not-for-profit collective Design Everything, With Limitations spans furniture, textiles, graphic design and industrial design. It explores how constraints can become a catalyst for creativity and innovation. Across the exhibition, participants respond
to limitations of space, budget, time, materials and access to equipment, while collectively raising broader questions about the challenges facing emerging designers, from the availability of affordable workspace to access to resources and opportunities in cities.
‘With Limitations brings multiple disciplines together
in a way that both reflects and subverts the domestic environment, transforming the gallery into a space for shared learning, discussion and community, driven by Design Everything’s belief in UK design talent. Crucially, this takes place in a physical space rather than via a screen,’ says Grace Eden, Aram creative manager.
‘The designers involved are full of ideas, community-minded and ambitious, embodying the entrepreneurial spirit and artistic energy that the UK’s creative scene
is known for. Together, they’ve created a living exhibition that brings visitors into their world while showcasing some of the country’s most exciting emerging and independent talent.’
‘Our vision is for With Limitations to serve as an important point of reflection on the current state of the industry. As a collective, we’ve increasingly felt that design exhibitions often lack dynamism and points of access. Objects are placed on plinths, adorned with
do-not-touch stickers, and shows can be consumed
in minutes or through one or two photographs,’ says Jacob Marks, Design Everything member.
‘By creating a fictional flat populated exclusively with work by emerging designers, we wanted to offer a different kind of exhibition: one that visitors can truly immerse themselves in rather than simply walk around. Homes are places where people gather, share ideas and spend time together, and we hope the exhibition becomes a space for conversation about who design is for, what its place in cities like London should be, and the creativity and ingenuity that continue to define the next generation of designers.’
At a time when many exhibitions remain financially out of reach for early-career designers, the project has been developed as a free-to-participate exhibition, removing financial barriers and creating a more accessible platform for new voices, ideas and perspectives.
Throughout the duration of the exhibition, several exhibitors will host live demonstrations in the gallery space to showcase their making process.
The programme will also feature three talks with established designers, including Martino Gamper, Kim Collins and Ella Doran, who will each select a participating designer from With Limitations to join them as they share insights into their work and personal journey as an emerging designer, rather than focusing solely on their latest or most high-profile projects.
The aim is to bring the flat to life, reflecting the hybrid living-and-working environments that shape the experiences of many emerging designers today.
With Limitations continues the legacy of Aram’s gallery, established in 2002 by the late Zeev Aram to promote innovation and experimentation in design. Relaunched in Aram’s Covent Garden flagship store for the retailer’s 60th anniversary in 2024, the space features forward-looking experimental exhibitions that aim to inspire, challenge conventions and reimagine the future of making.
It takes place from 11 September – 10 October.
