Organizer Information
The Trieste Contemporanea Committee is a long-established cultural organization based in Italy, dedicated to promoting contemporary design and artistic research with a strong focus on Central and Eastern Europe. Founded in connection with the legacy of Italian aesthetics scholar Gillo Dorfles, the platform operates as a curatorial and research-driven initiative that connects design discourse with cultural identity, historical memory, and geopolitical context.
The committee works in collaboration with institutions such as the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the ADI – Association for Industrial Design. It is publicly supported by regional cultural bodies including the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia. Through its biennial programming, Trieste Contemporanea positions itself as both an exhibition platform and an intellectual laboratory for experimental and concept-driven design practices.
Title & Description
16th Trieste Contemporanea Design Contest – HOLD THE PLACE (Trieste Contemporanea)
The Trieste Contemporanea International Design Contest is a biennial competition inviting designers from Central and Eastern Europe (and Austria) to develop original functional objects that engage with themes of place, memory, identity, and resilience.
The 16th edition, titled “HOLD THE PLACE,” challenges participants to create a small functional object that preserves a personal or imagined experience of Friuli Venezia Giulia, a region in northeastern Italy. Rather than literal representation, designers are encouraged to translate cultural, historical, social, or landscape impressions into an object whose use embodies storytelling and identity.
The competition also includes a Special Theme dedicated to the town of Venzone, marking 50 years since the Friuli earthquake. Designers are invited to interpret themes of reconstruction, resilience, and community through functional design objects that reflect continuity and renewal.
This opportunity emphasizes conceptual clarity, sustainability, usability, and narrative-driven design thinking, where material and function become carriers of memory and meaning.
Categories
- Industrial Design (functional objects, product design)
- Conceptual Design
- Object Design / Functional Artifacts
- Sustainable Design Practices
- Interdisciplinary Design Research
Eligibility
- Open to designers born in CEI Member States (including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine)
- Also open to designers born in Austria
- No age limit
- Individuals and groups may apply
- Each participant or group may submit only one project
- Projects must be original, unpublished, and free of third-party rights infringement
- Applications must be submitted in English
- International participation is geographically restricted to the eligible countries listed above
Program Benefits & Awards
- Selected works exhibited in Trieste and published in an online catalogue
- Beba Prize: €1,000 (youngest selected designer)
- CEI Prize: €3,000 (best design from non-EU CEI countries)
- Gillo Dorfles Prize: €4,000 (best overall project)
- Venzone Special Prize: €2,000 (best interpretation of special theme)
- Travel and accommodation fully covered for the award ceremony in Trieste
- Potential prototype production of selected works (at organizer’s discretion)
- International exhibition exposure in Italy and potentially abroad
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Official ID document (showing place of birth)
- Group member documentation (if applicable)
- Design project file (PDF, max 5 MB)
- Narrative capsule (max 100 characters)
- Concept rationale (max 2,400 characters)
- CV (max 1,500 characters)
- All materials must be submitted in English
- Only one submission per individual or group
- Projects must be unpublished and original
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 5 July 2026
- Jury Announcement: by the end of May 2026
- Results Publication: end of July 2026
- Exhibition & Awards Ceremony: by 15 September 2026
Location
Trieste, Italy
Additional Details
- Focus on design as a narrative tool linking object, memory, and place
- Two thematic tracks: general theme + Venzone special prize
- Sustainability and feasibility are important evaluation criteria
- Jury decisions are final and binding
- Confidential submission until official results are published
- Winning designs may be prototyped and remain the property of the organizer
- Selected works may be exhibited internationally
- Travel and accommodation provided for award winners
- Emphasis on conceptual clarity and cultural storytelling through design