The Bigger Picture. Women in design 1920 – today

The design emerged as a separate discipline in the course of the industrial revolution. To this day, in the history of creation and design – very much like in art and architecture – male protagonists and their key works are in the foreground. In exhibitions dedicated to women designers, the focus was primarily on individual actors or the work of women at institutions such as the Bauhaus. In autumn 2021 the exhibition “The Bigger Picture” in the Vitra Design Museum will therefore examine the role of women in design and offer a critical overview of the achievements, working conditions, and social contexts in which women designers have been active over the past 100 years. The exhibition illustrates the contribution of women to modern and contemporary design but also questions the basic structures of design practice and its historiography. “The Bigger Picture” shows works by Charlotte Perriand, Lilly Reich and Eileen Gray and introduces lesser-known designers, including Nanda Vigo and Nanna Ditzel. The exhibition also presents contemporary designers such as Marjan van Aubel, Bless and Julia Lohmann.