A surge of solidarity

Three exhibitors from Ukraine were supposed to be joining us at Maison&Objet in March. One of them was forced to cancel. The team at Tatton.me, based in Kyiv, who offer a lovely range of temporary tattoos, from the cutest to the craziest designs, for kids of all ages, have done everything to make it happen, so you’ll be seeing them at  their stand in Hall 1. The Ukrainian Ceramic And Craft, from Anastasia Biletska and Sana Moreau will present the creativity of this nation that is now at war. The two exhibit curators and founders of Maino Design Ukraine, who launched the first-ever show dedicated to young Ukrainian design in Paris in 2016, during Paris Design Week, and who, for three years at the fair, organized group stands that brought together the work of several Ukrainian designers and creatives, simply could not give up. The Ukrainian stand will take the form of a sort of manifesto, while the conflict has suspended imports, and the workshops, agencies and studios they had worked with have stopped production. This young generation of designers that Sana, also a founder of a Parisian gallery devoted to her compatriots’ work, had often presented as making both “beautiful objects and beautiful children”, have joined the ranks of volunteers who, each in their own way, are working to defend their country. 

In its own way, the home and hospitality sectors have also reacted quite quickly. While major architectural studios are pulling out of current projects in Russia one by one, 6500 Russian architects and urban planners signed an open letter two days after the invasion began, describing it as “unacceptable” and condemning the russian government. Today, the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) in the United Kingdom, the Architecture et maîtres d'ouvrage (AMO - Architecture and project management) association, Architectes français à l’export (Afex – French Export architects) and the Conseil national de l’Ordre des architectes (Cnoa_ National Council of the Order of Architects) in France, as well as the Council of Architects of Europe (CAE) have mobilized to facilitate the hosting and employment of students and professionals in the field within Europe. In Poland, and now in Parisian gymnasiums, Shigeru Ban Architects has set up PPS systems (Paper Partition System) designed by this Japanese architect, a Pritzker Prize winner and advisor to the High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations. Simple and affordable, these cardboard-and-fabric structures help improve living conditions in spaces set up on an emergency basis, by partitioning space, thus offering privacy to refugees. Other initiatives that will need funding or donations of materials are underway. 

In the hospitality sector, the Accor group is hosting refugees within its establishments, notably in Poland, Rumania, Hungary and France. The Everybodyhelps platform, launched by German hotel owners, and the Hospitality for Ukraine campaign, set up by London-based marketing firm Stay the night, in partnership with Budget Traveller, are encouraging accommodations suppliers to do their part in hosting Ukrainian refugees. Marriott has invited the members of its loyalty program Marriott Bonvoy to donate points in support of UNICEF and World Central Kitchen. This NGO, founded by restaurateur José Andrés, serves meals to refugees at eight border crossings across southern Poland. His teams are also in the field in Rumania, Moldavia, and soon in Slovakia and Hungary. The English Soho House group and the London establishments of the French Big Mamma group are highlighting Ukrainian cuisine and sending the proceeds from the purchase of these traditional dishes on their menus to the #CookForUkraine initiative launched by UNICEF. 

On the designer side, Marcin Rusak, based in Warsaw, has mobilized a number of his colleagues, including the duo from Formafantasma, Martino Gamper, Faye Toogood, and Sabine Marcelis to organize a charity auction of their works to benefit Polish NGO Fundacja Ocalenie, which is helping refugees. English designer Adam Nathaniel Furman has created an illustration of an iconic Constructivist building in the city of Kharkiv, the Derzhprom complex. This sketch, along with cups and T-shirts, are for sale, and the proceeds will go to the Disaster Emergency Comittee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. 

At her stand at Maison&Objet, despite the fact that it’s impossible to ensure the importation of Ukrainian products, Sana Moreau will invite visitors to come discover a new generation of talents, so as to keep connections intact, along with the chance for a future for Ukrainian designer and creators. 

At Maison&Objet Paris

• Ukrainian Ceramic And Craft
  Hall 5A — Stand M44
  The two exhibit curators, Anastasia Biletska and Sana Moreau (the founder of Galerie Sana Moreau) may be contacted at maino-design.com  info@maino-design.com
   
• Tatton.me
  Hall 1 — Stand A95

Designers’ initiatives 

• Marcin Rusak International creatives for Ukraine and Fundacja Ocalenie. The auction runs until March 31. 
• The sale of objects from Adam Nathaniel Furman to benefit the Disaster Emergency Comittee's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Architecture

• Initiative of the Royal Institute of British Architect.
• The Amo Afex initiative to host Ukrainian professionals within French construction firms.
• Shigeru Ban Architects

Hospitality  

• Everybedhelps
• Hospitality for Ukraine
• World Central Kitchen
• #cookforukraine
• The website of the Coordination Committee for Assistance to Ukraine, in partnership with the Ukrainian Embassy in France: aideukraine.fr