The Centre’s Projects and Relevant Networks
Annika Skaarup Larsen, asl@designmuseum.dk, annla@sdu.dk
SDU and Designmuseum Danmark
Ny Carlsberg PhD fellowship
In the decades following World War II, Danish weavers, textile printers, artists and architects began collaborating with textile companies in the development of designed interior textiles. Focusing on the themes of gender, production, and materiality, this project traces the shift from artisanal, workshop-based production to industrial mass production, and explores how the new role of the industrial textile designer was defined, performed, and negotiated during the transition.
Mia Elisabeth Jensen, m.elisabeth@hotmail.com
Danish Museums' Mediation of Material through Exhibitions
MA-thesis in Design Studies, SDU 2024
This thesis examines how Danish museums disseminate materials through their exhibitions. The main research question explores what relevance materials have had in exhibitions at museums through history, and how this can relate to a modern perspective on sustainability. It discusses which possibilities and challenges can occur through dissemination of materials at museums. Cases include exhibitions at the Textile Museum, Trapholt Museum of Art and Design, CLAY Ceramic Museum Danmark, and Design Museum Denmark.
Grant from Augustinus Foundation for the joint project:
Made in Denmark: Production History as Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Literacy (2026-2029)
Museum SydøstDanmark, Museum Midtjylland, Museum Kolding, CLAY Keramikmuseum Danmark, and SDU. Project leader: Anders V. Munch, SDU, avm@sdu.dk
The automatization and outsourcing of Danish industrial manufacture in the second half of the 20th century have left citizens with very little knowledge of production. This lack also weakens insight into products, material qualities, and maintenance, making it difficult to expect responsible consumer behaviour. Denmark is an extreme case, both of outsourcing and overconsumption. While many factories have closed and left no traces of production, design museums contain collections documenting manufacturers in textiles, metalware, and ceramics, which allow us to track developments in production conditions and changes in product quality, usability, and durability. The team will investigate the Danish cases of Dranella Fashion, Kähler Ceramics, Hans Hansen Silver, and Royal Copenhagen. Our project is urgent in collecting knowledge of production from older generations and sharing it with younger generations.
Susanne Bruhn, sbruhn@sdu.dk
Between Art and Mass Production
Axel Salto and the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory
SDU and CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art, Ny Carlsberg PhD fellowship
This research project examines the artist’s role and Salto’s collaboration with the company during the 1950s. The project explores the media discourse and visual mediations of this partnership in connection with international design exhibitions such as Triennale di Milano, Design in Scandinavia (1954-57), and The Arts of Denmark: Viking to Modern (1960-61).
Keywords: Danish Modern, design exhibition, mediation, design culture
Giovanni Acerbis, gioac@sdu.dk
The Role of Kitchens: Reaching Sustainability through Materiality
SDU PhD project
By combining New Materialist theories, literature on product sustainability, and craft studies, the project explores consumption of kitchens in relation to sustainability issues. By investigating how kitchens actively shape and develop interactions with users, the project frames materiality as a possible catalyst for more sustainable kitchen-user interactions.
Joachim Allouche, jallo@sdu.dk
Danish Glass after 1950
SDU and Museum of Southeast Denmark, Ny Carlsberg PhD fellowship
In the second half of the 20th century, Danish glass design developed its own identity as a reaction to foreign competition employing sophisticated production apparatus capable of making machine-made glass. The design style emphasized craft and visual design while remaining affordable, lasting until the 21st century when the industry faced a crisis, leading to the closure of the last Danish glassworks. This project explores how Danish glass design and industry mutually affected each other, and how this interaction impacted the industry's development and final demise in 2008.
Anna Freund, alfreundhj@gmail.com, & Karoline F. B. Schou, karolineschou@gmail.com
The Meaningful Connection between the History of Danish Design and Repressed Cultural Heritage: A Design Historical Investigation of the Production of Plates at the Royal Porcelain Factory (1960-1979)
SDU MA-thesis in collaboration with CLAY Ceramic Museum, 2023
This project examines the history of plate production at the Royal Porcelain Factory, 1960-1979, including the cultural context and how production culture changed in response to globalization. It also explores the impact on female workers and how production history can be integrated into an interactive workshop for technical high school students at CLAY Ceramic Museum.
Nordisk Forum for Designhistorie
Kristian Roland Larsen, krlar@trapholt.dk
Mediation and Materiality in Wegner's Furniture Design
SDU and Trapholt Museum of Art and Design, New Carlsberg Postdoctoral Fellowship
The project explores the relationships between entrepreneurship, mediation, and (new) materialism within the practice of Danish furniture designer Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007). It aims to deepen insights into Wegner’s work, uncover the values shaping his practice, and examine his role in quality assurance, visual mediation methods, and material relationships. The research will culminate in a major exhibition on Wegner at Trapholt in 2027.