Arts & travel

Paris, France: SILMO trade fair reconfirms for live show in September – an edition designed for ‘renewal and reunion’ of the entire industry

One of the optical industry’s key annual international events – which attracts a large number of international eyewear companies and a wide selection of independent brands and creative designers including young and emerging eyewear labels, looks set to take place in September 2021 – at the Parc des Expositions Paris Nord Villepinte. The fair organisers have stated in July that ‘nearly 500 companies from 32 countries have registered for the live event.’

Last year the regular event was unable to go ahead at the Paris Nord site owing to Covid restrictions and a smaller version of the show took place in central Paris and in some locations in France in an unprecendented change to the calendar and a ‘roadshow’ format entitled “Silmo hors Les Murs”. Above: SILMO 2019 at Parc des Expositions: a memorable occasion and the 25th anniversary of Silmo D’Or Awards: pre-Covid-19

The format of the 2021 fair will follow that of previous years prior to the pandemic, with special areas such as the SILMO NEXT space and the SILMO d’Or awards and presentation event. Comfort and safety will be at the top of the organisers’ agenda, with health protocols being observed and reinforced according to the French administrative authorities, although attendees will be able to explore the trade fair freely without making an appointment in advance – in an event that promises real hope as a driver of recovery and renewal for the sector at a global level.

The SILMO fair is due to take place on 24th to 27th September 2021. Eyestylist looks forward to meeting will friends, designers and sponsors in person once again during the event. (Contact us for further details or to share your updates and previews at [email protected]).

Click on the link here to register for SILMO 2021: https://en.silmoparis.com

London designer Yair Neuman creates lights for interiors marketplace HARTH

Following a lockdown design project with Cubitts of London, making lights with repurposed optical lenses, Yair Neuman has gone on to create a new line of pendant lights called Lens Light Heads, available to purchase at design site HARTH.

Handmade from upcycled spectacle lenses, Neuman has created sculptural pendant lights in a limited special edition. The exclusive designs use contemporary 3D design with an acute understanding of the circular economy, and a donation to the Climate Coalition will be made with every light purchased.

The Lens Light Heads are an ideal pendant feature light for the home or store interior. The spherical structures are delicate and elegant, surrounded by a halo of the petal-like lenses. Two halves are fixed with brass rivets. Each piece is easy to install with a simple cable and hook system, to allows for maximum flexibility. The overall effect is of an organic form, a little like a flower head. The Lens Light Heads emit a glow when switched on, but also gleam with iridescence when unlit, due to the unique material that Neuman has devised.

From his extensive work in eyewear design, Neuman has seen first-hand the hidden waste in the business and the Lens Light collection is a direct response, showing firstly that the waste exists, and secondly how the material can be turned into something aesthetically beautiful and useful – for years to come. Neuman developed the waste plano lenses into a sheet material after extensive experimentation. The result is a material that is strong, attractive, and that clearly communicates the story of the potential reuse of this type of waste. Find out more at https://harth.space/ (@harth_space) to purchase the products  / Visit www.yairneuman.com for more on the designer. Written by Clodagh Norton for Eyestylist.com

Looking forward…live art in 2021

As museums struggle through difficulties of closures and a lack of tourists, the highly acclaimed Guggenheim in Bilbao reminded us of how much we have missed and are missing visiting galleries and museums. Like many other museums around the world, the closure of the Guggenheim for almost three months, and the subsequent mobility restrictions, reduced the number of visitors to the Museum (to 315.908 people)  despite massive support of their digital initiatives.

In 2020, as in other arts organisations across the world, the digital presence of the Museum increased considerably in order to alleviate to some extent the impossibility of enjoying live art, and the results they say were very satisfactory. During the Spring quarantine when the Museum was required to close to the public, the digital initiative #GuggenheimBilbaoLive was launched, through which a total of 55 videos were made about the exhibitions and lesser-known aspects of the Museum activity, along with storytellers and artist workshops for children. In total, these videos achieved 2.3 million views on the Museum’s social media and generated a total of 90,000 very positive user interactions! Above: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Meanwhile, the Museum has maintained the highest quality in its Art Program and today the doors are open for Lee Krasner: Living Color (to 10th January 2021) and the retrospective dedicated to Kandinsky – running until 23rd May 2021. Drawn primarily from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, this is a comprehensive exhibition which traces along four geographic sections the aesthetic evolution of one of the foremost artistic innovators of the early 20th century.

If you’d like to find out more or review what’s happening online at the Guggenheim Bilbao in the next months, visit their website at www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus and lend your support! Follow the Guggenheim on Instagram @museoguggenheim. We look forward to bringing you more updates in our Arts & Travel column just as soon as the pandemic is under control.

Image above (full details): Vasily Kandinsky – Several Circles (Einige Kreise) January-February 1926 Oil on canvas – 55 1/4 x 55 3/8 inches (140.3 x 140.7 cm) Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift © [current year] Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris Painting Bauhaus

An Eyestylist update on trade fairs – 2021 looks set to welcome some new formats for the eyewear business’ trade events. Hall of Frames has joined with the You & Eye Weekend organisers to trial their new format in Lucerne in Switzerland based across venues as opposed to being held in one single place.

With the ongoing disruption to European eyewear events, the Swiss fair organisers, Hall of Frames GmbH has come up with a new opportunity for independent eyewear brands and opticians, designed for safety and wellbeing in the current climate, as well as enjoyment. Their new concept, in partnership with You & Eye Weekend (fair organisers from Sweden who arranged an eyewear event in Gothenburg in September 2020) will take place in the stunning cosmopolitan city of Lucerne in Switzerland in May. The exhibitors will be dispersed across unique venues within easy walking distance of one another so that the visiting and viewing of collections can be made both pleasurable and safe. The organisers have suggested that as well as exhibiting in hotel suites or stores, there will also be opportunities for brands to show in special private venues which are not normally open to the public.

The heart of the new event will be an electronic platform through which all registrations will be processed, and all information exchanged between the organisers, exhibitors and visitors. This platform will be activated at the beginning of January 2021 and will be regularly updated.

Hall of Frames Weekend will take place in Lucerne, Switzerland at multiple locations from 8th to 10th May 2021. The event is designed for store owners and opticians who wish to view and purchase collections for their stores. (trade only). Also taking place in 2021, the Zurich Hall of Frames (also trade only) is planned for 12-13th September in the newly renovated Zurich Convention Centre. www.hallofframes.ch