The MK&G Fair 2024

From November 27 to December 1, 2024, the MK&G Fair will bring together 50 selected designers and five collectives at the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe in Hamburg. The exhibitors will mainly be presenting unique pieces in the genres of jewelry, textiles, ceramics, glass, metal and wood. A quarter of the exhibitors are taking part in this sales show for the first time. The participants come from Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway and Austria. As in previous years, five “Young Talents” will again be sponsored. At the same time, Hanne Friis’s first solo show in Germany will be presented in the “Contemporary Craft” exhibition series. Works by Norway’s most important textile artist can be seen at the MK&G until April 27, 2025. The opening takes place on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 5 p.m.

This year’s special exhibition at the MK&G fair features spectacular textile art: Hanne Friis, The Mass (Yellow), 2011, Collection KODE Art Museum, Bergen, Norway, Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen, © Hanne Friis.

In the field of tension between craft, design and art, Hanne Friis is not the only designer who can be clearly classified on the art side. Anna Zimmermann, one of the five “Young Talents”, for example, allows the welds and excess material from the manufacturing process to remain on her vessels, thus transforming a piece that might otherwise be taken for a design object into a sculpture. The series simultaneously recalls the formal interpretation experiment by the Swiss psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922), which went down in history as the Rorschach inkblot test. Works by the other “Young Talents” likewise deserve mention: ceramics by Maya Fenderl; furniture objects by Jakob Niemann; glass, ceramics and textiles by Clara Schweers; and textiles by Damien Ajavons. These playful, experimental and sometimes visionary creations, along with those by a number of other exhibitors, transcend the limited realm of craftsmanship in terms of form, color, function and technical mastery. The organizers in Hamburg explain that the aim of the MK&G is to “promote young creatives and to showcase the future of craftsmanship and its innovative potential.” The organizers add that the MK&G also wants to “build a close connection for future collaborations” with the Young Talents.

Promoted as a Young Talent by MK&G: Damien Ajavon, Sanctuary, 2023. Sparebankstiftelsen DNB’s stipendutstilling. Photo: Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo.

Two internationally recognized prizes are awarded annually at the MK&G: the renowned Justus Brinckmann Prize, worth €7,500, is conferred by the eight-member jury on behalf of the Justus Brinckmann Gesellschaft, i.e. the association of friends of the MK&G. In addition, a promotional prize of €2,500 is awarded for a young artistic position. The Justus Brinckmann Prize and the promotional prize will be conferred on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 at 6 p.m. as part of the opening.

At the MK&G trade fair, Annette Lechler is showing convertible jewelry and bowls. Here the necklace Schalenverkettung. Double carré in variable lengths, 925 silver, thread, length approx. 120 cm. © Annette Lechler.

Colorful, plastic vase objects by Maya Fenderl, Untitled. Photo Alexander Burzik.

Visitors to the MK&G trade fair can also look forward to seeing the masterful blacksmithing of Laurenz Stockner this year: a tray made of tombac. Photo Jürgen Eheim.

With a history stretching back through 130 years, the MK&G Fair is Germany’s oldest forum for arts and crafts. All participants are present on-site throughout the entire fair, where they present their work without the mediation of galleries, a tradition that creates and cultivates lasting relationships between collectors and artists. The selection criteria are the highest standards of design and craftsmanship. The MK&G Fair also sees itself as a space for experimentation by young artists. In addition, the current discussions about the values of ecology and new luxury, one-of-a-kind items and mass-produced goods give new relevance to fairs for the arts and crafts. Situated between tradition and innovation, these events are central venues for the examination of cultural knowledge about craft techniques, material properties and sustainable processing. The opening, the award ceremony and artist talks begin at 6 p.m. on November 26, 2024.