Viveros 26 Program. Exhibition OFF LINE. CONNECTING HUMAN SHOP

Between Asociación Norte Joven, Tetuán Crea, and Madrid Design Festival / Community of Madrid

Disconnect to connect. An exhibition inviting visitors to step away from the online world for a moment, to be physically present, observe, talk, and engage with what is in front of them.

This exhibition is the outcome of a collaborative project between Tetuán Crea and Norte Joven, presented for the second consecutive year at Fiesta Design. Designers from Tetuán Crea and the students and faculty of Norte Joven co-designed OFF LINE. Connecting Human Shop, developed during the 25/26 academic year through Creative Laboratories, coordinated by Marta Pascual (u-ak design) and the Tetuán Crea collective.

This educational design and creativity program, based on design thinking and co-design, has driven the creation of an innovative pop-up store concept, exhibiting products: on one hand, customized garments by students from the Commercial Services 1 program at Norte Joven Fuencarral; on the other, co-designed objects by two Tetuán Crea designers in collaboration with the Soulem artisan workshop, a project integrating women into society through emotional recovery, craft training, and employment.

In collaboration with all the training workshops at Norte Joven Fuencarral and this year including the Vallecas center —carpentry, electricity, plumbing, commerce 1 and 2, cooking, and service workshops— participants, young people in socially vulnerable situations, have designed the exhibition/pop-up store, its products, and experiences, highlighting the importance of human connection.

The final works are presented at Viveros during Fiesta Design, featuring graphic, spatial, lighting, and retail elements, as a showcase of co-creation, innovation, and collective empowerment.

The project brings design to people with no prior experience, offering new professional perspectives, fostering creativity, co-creation, and making underrepresented communities visible in design initiatives.

Participating designers: Alejandra Domic, Alejandro Abarzúa, Antonio Torralba, Christian Granados, Pablo Peñalver, Pedro Cerisola, Silvia Villamor, Ilaria Franceschini, Estrella Poza, and Marta Pascual.