From 14 December 2025 to 7 June 2026, the Museum August Kestner in Hanover is hosting a unique double exhibition focusing on two facets of contemporary design. Under the title “Fun Design”, everything revolves around the emotional power and playful character of design objects. Here, visitors will encounter a variety of products designed with humour, irony or provocative originality — sometimes playful, sometimes even deliberately tasteless. Italian companies in particular characterise this style, which draws on a wide range of historical models and demonstrates that even fun design can pursue sustainable approaches.
The second part of the exhibition, “Circular Design”, is dedicated to the pressing issue of sustainability in product design. For a long time, furniture and interior design were little affected by the scarcity of resources or environmental problems, but a change is now taking place — driven by political guidelines, critical consumersand, in many cases, intrinsic conviction. The exhibition shows the creative solutions that renowned design companies, primarily from Lower Saxony, but also students and scientists aredeveloping for sustainable, circular design. The museum thus becomes the setting for a discourse that seeks a balance between the joy of design and responsibility for the future.
