Designer Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian is transforming London's prestigious Institute of Contemporary Arts into a pop-up design fair that charges no participation fees, aiming to "redistribute access and opportunities" within the design industry. The event, dubbed "Squat at the ICA," will take place on the final day of the London Design Festival, showcasing an eclectic mix of projects from installations to fashion, craft, and digital design.
The unconventional fair emerged from what was originally supposed to be a simple film screening. Ben Hayoun-Stépanian was initially asked to screen her documentary essay "Doppelgängers 3" at the ICA, following its premiere at SXSW in Austin. However, the designer saw this as an opportunity to open doors for new talent who might lack the funds or industry connections to participate in the London Design Festival.
"For me, it's a way to bring as many people as I can into a place like the ICA, which is of course a place of prestige and recognized as an institution, and actually make sure that as many people as possible can also have access to it," Ben Hayoun-Stépanian told Dezeen. She emphasized the urgent need for structural change in the design world, particularly regarding diversity and accessibility.
The designer highlighted the systemic barriers that prevent emerging talent from participating in major design events. "If you look at the London Design Festival, or if you look into design as a discipline overall, it requires a proper reshape in terms of the way it's been structured," she explained. "The lack of diversity in this field is absolutely mind-blowing. So for me, as someone who runs a design practice, it's like: how can I redistribute access and opportunities?"
Ben Hayoun-Stépanian specifically addressed the gender and racial imbalances in the industry, stating, "For a mainly male, white-dominated industry, it's more essential and more urgent to make sure that every form of activity or public program or installation always has accessibility as a core principle." The fair's open call particularly encouraged submissions from creatives with marginalized backgrounds.
The event will occupy the ICA's bar starting at 7 pm on Sunday, September 22, before the film screening begins at 8:30 pm. Both visitors and exhibitors can attend free of charge, though participants are asked to bring their own tables, stalls, and payment systems if they wish to sell their work. Among the designers showcasing their work are Taewoo and Renate Baumane, as well as Ayumi Kajiwara, who will display her maximalist costumes.
The grassroots approach reflects a broader trend toward democratizing access to the London Design Festival. This year, Alex Tieghi-Walker handed over curation of various exhibitions in Brompton, one of the festival's main districts, to designers from different communities. Similarly, the non-profit collective Design Everything has worked outside the official program, touring an exhibition around the capital in a Luton van.
Ben Hayoun-Stépanian explained how financial barriers particularly impact recent graduates and emerging designers. "I think if you just graduated, it's really, really difficult to actually make a group show, because you incur the cost of rental for the space," she said. "You have to cope with the cost of living, the student debt that you're going to have to incur for a good part of the development of your practice."
These economic pressures have broader implications for creativity and innovation in the design field. "That also explains why a lot of the young designers these days tend to be less experimental," Ben Hayoun-Stépanian noted. "Because, of course, if the focus of your practice is to result in income, then you tend to go for things that are more commercially viable or look more commercially viable. And that's why we end up with the same type of production and products."
The designer emphasized that supporting diversity benefits the entire creative community. "So it's in everyone's interest, from a creative and innovative perspective, to really support diversity and access," she concluded. The ICA is aware of the planned art fair, though Ben Hayoun-Stépanian playfully noted, "the beauty of it is, they don't fully know the extent of it."
The London Design Festival runs from September 13 to 22, 2025, with this free pop-up fair representing a bold challenge to traditional industry gatekeeping practices. The event demonstrates how established professionals can use their platform and connections to create opportunities for emerging talent who might otherwise remain excluded from prestigious design showcases.
