In 2011, PASSAGEN pulled in around 150,000 visitors, including the exhibition by A&W Designer of the Year, the Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka, in the Kölnischer Kunstverein (Cologne Art Association) which proved a sensational hit with the public. Alongside the cultural institutions and numerous universities, 2011 also saw other establishments enter the fray: the Cologne Museum of Applied Art, with its top-notch exhibition “Zwischen den Pfählen Venedigs” (Between the Poles of Venice) by RIVA 1920, as well as the Wallraf-Richartz Museum & Fondation Corboud. The Belgisches Viertel (Belgian Quarter) again saw the design scene descend on the plethora of exhibitions in and around Brüsseler Platz. Canadian designer Jerszy Seymour’s “Workshop Chair” installation in Café Hallmackenreuther was among the highlights. Cologne’s Ehrenfeld district left no doubts as to PASSAGEN’s new ‘in’ quarter. A true invasion of visitors hit the circuit of around 50 exhibitions staged in the “Design Zone Ehrenfeld”, now in its 4^th year and a fixed element of the PASSAGEN program. The DESIGNERS FAIR also set up base in Ehrenfeld in this year and showcased young design labels as well as staging two special exhibitions, Wahlverwandtschaft (Elective Affinity) and DESIGNWALK.

Impressions…