Which materials do you like to work with? How do you find “your” material as designer, artist, researcher and active individual, and how do you discover that a material is what you expect it to be? Or is it not at all important which material you use, but far more whether and how you manage to discover and reveal a material’s qualities – perhaps even its “essence”? Do you dream of materials that don’t exist yet? Does immaterial material exist? Are ideas and data also material, or does material have to be physically tangible? What roles do metabolic processes and aggregate states play, or signs of wear and tear, decay and dissolution? Aren’t stability and integrity per se finite? May material live? May human beings, animals and plants be materials, or only lifeless material and formerly living material, now dead for a sufficient time, like limestone, coal or a wooden board?

The organisers of the 6th International Marianne Brandt Contest are now inviting designers, artists and scientists to respond to such and similar questions about material. Up to twenty of the most interesting replies will be published in the book on the Marianne Brandt Contest, which in 2016 addresses the theme of Material Effects in the categories product, photography and experimental set-up – together with sixty selected contest entries that have been nominated for distinctions. Furthermore, plans are being made to invite three authors of exceptionally outstanding papers to a panel discussion during the award-giving ceremony and exhibition opening of the 6th International Marianne Brandt Contest on 1 October 2016 in the Museum of Industry in Chemnitz. And there is the possibility that other authors will be invited to present their materials and material perspectives as part of the public relations activities and supporting programme of the award presentation.

The requirement is to present clear and well-founded materials or material combinations that you have experienced, individually or in a collective, as especially important, attractive and, in the most comprehensive meaning of the word, valuable for your work. Another option exists, however: that you describe materials and material combinations which you are seeking and wish existed. It is also conceivable that research or study projects be presented which place a central focus on the search for materials or examination of materials.

The length of the papers should not exceed four A4 pages; the submission can be presented as text, but also using images and texts. What matters is to substantiate transparently and clearly why and for what creative or artistic goals a specific material or material combination is gauged and felt to be fascinating, inspiring or particularly suitable.

Deadline is 1 October 2015.
There is no age limit.
Those interested are requested to provide a brief description (approx. 30 lines/1,650 characters) of their proposal (sample picture desirable) and a short CV (approx. 10 lines/550 characters) by e-mail to the curator of the contest Linda Pense: lp@mbw6.de
The selection of papers will be made on 30 October by an editorial committee of the International Marianne Brandt Contest. Afterwards, the authors supplying the selected contributions for the book publication are requested to finish these by 31 January 2016. The publication release of the book Materialeffekte is planned for 1 October 2016.