Live interview with Ron Arad as part of Virtual Design Festival

Ron Arad speaks to Dezeen in this live discussion as part of VDF’s collaboration with the British-Israeli designer and architect.

Virtual Design Festival teamed up with Arad to host a digital launch of his Don’t F**k With The Mouse collection of chairs, which were meant to be exhibited at the OTI gallery in Los Angeles. The show was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The collection features variations of the Big Easy chair he designed for Moroso, nicknamed Mickey Mouse for its resemblance to the iconic silhouette of the Disney character’s head.

Arad attended the Jerusalem Academy of Art before moving to London to study at the Architectural Association. He co-founded design and production studio One Off with Caroline Thorman in 1981, and went on to establish Ron Arad Associates in 1989 and Ron Arad Architects in 2008.

Arad’s international architecture projects include the Design Museum Holon and the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC. He has designed products for brands including Samsung, Alessi, Swarovski, Fiat and Bombay Sapphire.

His designs have been featured in museums and galleries worldwide, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Powerhouse in Sydney. The 2010 exhibition Ron Arad: Restless at the Barbican in London explored three decades of his designs.

The interview is part of our VDF Screentime series, a series of live interviews which has so far featured trend forecaster Li Edelkoort, Tokyo-based studio Klein Dytham Architecture, New York architecture practice SO-IL, and The World Around curator Beatrice Galilee.

Virtual Design Festival is the world’s first online design festival, taking place from 15 April to 30 June. For more information, or to be added to the mailing list, contact us at virtualdesignfestival@dezeen.com.

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