Bagging an Interdisciplinary Exhibit

“It’s a glorified bag distribution system,” explains Jonathan Lindsay, an administrator at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, about the college’s exhibit for this year’s ICFF. The project—as much a performance art piece as a study in design—comprises of students cutting prefab shoulder bags from the rolling bolts of graphic-printed Tyvek that form the booth’s walls, then handing the bags to the awaiting visitors.

The installation reflects the school’s commitment to an interdisciplinary curriculum by combining sustainable design (there’s no waste of material) with interior architecture, furniture, fashion, graphic design, and technology. Each fabric bolt is lined with sensors that count when and how often each rack is pulled; results are displayed on a monitor at the front of the booth.