2024 Melbourne Design Week Award Presented by Mercedes-Benz

Design

25 May

Written By Hande Renshaw

A&A duo Adam Goodrum and Arthur Seigneur win the 2024 Melbourne Design Week Award presented by Mercedes-Benz.

Words: Hande Renshaw I Photography: Lillie Thompson & Andrew Curtis

Arthur Seigneur and Adam Goodrum, recipients of the Melbourne Design Week Award presented by Mercedes Benz, with their work *The Kissing Cabinet*. *Photo above and main hero photo:* *Lillie Thompson*

Installation view of *The Kissing Cabine*t presented by A&A and Tolarno Galleries, on display from 25 May–1 June at Tolarno Galleries in Melbourne Design Week 2024. *Photo:* *Andrew Curtis*

French marquetry artisan Arthur Seigneur in the studio with *The Kissing Cabinet*. *Photo:* *Lillie Thompson*

“Melbourne Design Week presents incredible work by emerging and established artists and designers—it’s an honour for our work and practice to be recognised.”

— Adam Goodrum and Arthur Seigneur of A&A

Animated digital visualisation of *The Kissing Cabinet ‘*towers’*. Photo:* *Andrew Curtis*

Presented by Creative Victoria and delivered by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne Design Week is a vital platform for emerging and established creative practitioners, offering the Australian design community and audiences the opportunity to engage with a diverse program of talks, tours, exhibitions, installations, workshops and awards.

Recognising the outstanding contribution to the Design Week program and the Australian design industry, this year’s Melbourne Design Week Award presented by Mercedes-Benz, has been awarded to Australian industrial designer Adam Goodrum, and French marquetry artisan Arthur Seigneur.

Collaborating since 2017, Adam and Arthur form A&A—a design studio where their individual and contrasting creative talents are entwined. While Adam designs furniture and surface pattern, Arthur applies his masterful expertise in marquetry to their designs. Together they produce contemporary furniture pieces that embody the cultural and historical significance of centuries-old craft techniques, while maintaining a contemporary aesthetic.

Appearing in Europe by the 1600s, straw marquetry is a highly specialised technique using premium-grade rye straw imported from speciality growers in Burgundy, France. Using the traditional technique, Arthur applies thousands of small coloured straw sections to a timber substrate to create the patterned veneer surfaces appearing in A&A’s one-of-a-kind pieces.

For Melbourne Design Week 2024, Adam and Arthur have produced their most ambitious work to date, The Kissing Cabinet. On display at Melbourne’s Tolarno Galleries, The Kissing Cabinet showcases A&A's continued fascination with mechanical furniture, a trend that gained popularity in the 1800s. Traditionally, pieces included cabinets, desks and bookcases, often featuring concealed chambers that merged design, engineering and craftsmanship.

A&A’s cabinet is more than a homage; it unfolds as it turns inside out to reveal a hidden compartment before closing in the form of ‘kissing lips’. The natural curves and intricate patterns on the exterior highlight the enduring charm of blending age-old traditions with modern creativity. Beyond aesthetics, the use of materials, tools, and techniques emphasises the evolution and significance of craftsmanship and design across centuries.

Of the award, Adam and Arthur said, ‘We’re thrilled to receive the Melbourne Design Week Award presented by Mercedes Benz and very humbled, especially given the calibre of work by so many individuals and studios. Melbourne Design Week presents incredible work by emerging and established artists and designers—it's an honour for our work and practice to be recognised.’

MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK
Thursday, May 23 to Sunday, June 2

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