This exhibition looks back to the future, and to the time of the Cold War. It explores historical instances of utopian design and the visions for better futures underlying them, focusing explicitly on countries in the former Eastern bloc.

The show responds to a double impulse: firstly, it seeks to fill some of the gaps in a transnational history of design, contributing to a pluralistic understanding and re-evaluation of “utopian Modernism”; and secondly, it reflects upon the importance of design in the emergence of cultural identities in the various post-socialist countries, and its function as a form of diplomatic soft power in the political tussles between global powers. The Kunstgewerbemuseum has invited 12 groups of specialists in the field to jointly develop the exhibition, and to present key examples of spatial design for both the public and private realms, ranging from kitchens to airport lounges.

The exhibition is funded by the Kuratorium Preussischer Kulturbesitz.

A special exhibition by the Kunstgewerbemuseum – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin