Functional Beauty - Design from Switzerland
Talk by Swiss design curator Ariana Pradal in Delhi at 125 MCM at Meher Chand Market on Tuesday 2 August 2016

Talk by Swiss design curator ARIANA PRADAL 
Tuesday 2 August 2016 at 125 MCM, Meher Chand Market, New Delhi 

Functional Beauty - Design from Switzerland 
Switzerland is a small country in the middle of Europe. It is surrounded by big neighbours, and its centre consists largely of mountains. But there is more to Switzerland than just mountains, chocolate, watches and army knives. For about one hundred years there has been a growing and lively design community. The country's only raw material is water, and this is why the Swiss economy started concentrating on export very early. This was made possible due to high quality and niche products. The talk will give a quick overview of Swiss design. 

About Ariana Pradal 
Ariana Pradal has trained as an industrial designer and works as a journalist and curator. She writes and works regularly for various magazines and museums in the field of design and architecture. Her articles, books and exhibitions have been printed and presented in Switzerland and abroad.

Ariana Pradal studied industrial design at the Zurich School of Art and Design, (now the Zurich University of the Arts, Zhdk). Having gained experience by working in various design offices she decided to switch to a new role within the creative sector: instead of designing objects herself, she started to write about them. She completed a two-year traineeship with Hochparterre, a Swiss journal of design and architecture, while at the same time taking courses at the Swiss School of Journalism in Lucerne. During her time at Hochparterre she wrote articles, designed exhibitions, worked on books and gave lectures - setting the course for her future career. The time was then ripe for a change of direction, working in another country and in another field: Ariana Pradal spent six months in New York with Location Switzerland, the Swiss economic promotion body, gathering experience and awareness of the worlds of business and diplomacy.

After returning to Switzerland she spent three years working part time for the architectural journal Werk, Bauen und Wohnen, (wbw.ch). At the same time she wrote for other journals, and was commissioned by the Industrial Design section of the Zhdk to work on a project with the Pro Pueblo foundation in Ecuador. She also taught at various universities of applied sciences and sat on juries awarding diplomas. After her engagement at the architectural journal Werk, Bauen und Wohnen she worked two years as architecture critic for the newspaper Sonntag. Today she works as an independent journalist and curator in the areas of design, architecture and related disciplines. Her articles, books and exhibitions have been printed and presented in Switzerland and abroad. In addition she acts as a technical expert advising various cultural and political institutions. In 2010 she was appointed by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture for the "Mediation in Art and Architecture award 2010".

For more information on Ariana Pradal visit www.pradal.ch

A presentation by Gujral Foundation and Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council