UK Design Museum and Bombay Sapphire champion creativity with everyday pantry items in artist-designed packaging

23 Apr 2021 --- A unique partnership between the Design Museum in London, UK, and Bombay Sapphire has brought a sense of wonder and creativity to the everyday chore of food shopping.

In a temporary interactive exhibition, the museum’s High Street Shop has reopened as a vibrantly colored supermarket in collaboration with the gin producer and multidisciplinary designer Camille Walala. 

The art installation’s motto is “creativity is essential,” arguably just as essential as normal access to staple food and cleaning items. 

“We hope that on a wider level the installation will challenge people to think about the important role that creativity plays in our lives,” a Bombay Sapphire spokesperson tells PackagingInsights. 

“We believe that creativity is a fundamental part of being human, making us feel happy and fulfilled. By combining an essential shop with an art installation, we want people to question the value they assign to creativity and whether it’s something they make enough time for in their lives.” Designed by Isadora Lima, the fresh produce bags are still available in-store.

Sold out within two days
From April 21-25, the Design Museum has stocked its exhibition shelves with essential items packaged in custom artworks created by a line-up of emerging artists. 

Items for sale include tins of kidney beans, tea, coffee, bread, pasta sauce, porridge oats, rice, toilet paper and washing up liquid. Special limited-edition Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic bottles created by artist and animation director Ruff Mercy complete the range.

Despite the vibrant custom packaging designs, the pantry items are for sale at conventional supermarket prices to ensure creativity remains accessible to all.

Due to “overwhelming demand,” the entire range sold out online within the first two days. “We are still stocking shelves in our supermarket shop, but stock is extremely limited,” says Josephine Chanter, director of audiences at the Design Museum.

Pasta, bread, fruit, beans, rice, and tomato passata, as well as face masks and washing up liquid, are all still available in-store.Walala’s signature bold graphic prints invite “pop and fun” to ordinary grocery shopping. 

“To ensure that as many people as possible can enjoy the installation, we are limiting purchases to two items – although you can buy as much fresh fruit, vegetables, and bread as you like,” she maintains.

Meet the artists
The supermarket display wrapped in Camille Walala’s unique visual style of geometric patterns and bold colors brings aesthetic excitement to the ordinary. 

“I wanted to do something a little bit pop and fun. We are all creative but we might not realize it,” Walala told the Guardian. 

Ten UK-based artists – with expertise ranging from animation to painting and textile design – cloak standard packaging such as tin cans, glass bottles and paper bags and boxes, with modern prints following a blue and white theme.

The artists are:

• Ruff Mercy: Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic.
• Charlotte Edey: Bread bag.
• Holly Warburton: Coffee jar and pasta box.
• Isadora Lima: Bags and stickers for fresh produce.
• Kentaro Okawara: Kidney beans tin and face mask.
• Amy Worrall: Porridge oats jar.
• Joey Yu: Rice box & passata jar.
• Katherine Plumb: Tea tin.
• Michaela Yearwood-Dan: Toilet roll.
• Jessica Warby: Washing up liquid.

“I want [the Supermarket installation] to put a smile on people’s faces,” said Walala. “I hope it will be joyful.” 

From left to right, Bombay Sapphire’s global VP Natasha Curtin, Walala and Marlow discuss the installation.Colorful corona recovery
No pre-booking is needed to shop at the Supermarket installation; however, face-covering and social distancing remain mandatory. 

To further encourage physical distancing measures while attracting a wider audience, the special range is available at the Design Museum online shop.

“Our high streets, museums and galleries have been hit hard by the pandemic. This is an opportunity to get people back to enjoying our cultural institutions safely and creatively,” Tim Marlow, director and CEO of the Design Museum, told the Guardian.

Notably, the Design Museum suffered a 92 percent drop in its usual income streams.

Commenting on Bombay Sapphire’s involvement in the art project, Marlow encourages “other brands to get behind the recovery of the UK cultural sector.”

Grocery shopping supports the arts
The Design Museum hopes the installation will allow people to nourish their creativity.To make up for the sudden sellout, the Design Museum will shortly be offering limited edition prints by the artists so shoppers can still enjoy their creativity and support emerging artists and designers. 

Shoppers can also sign up to receive an email update when their preferred product is in stock again.

All proceeds will go to the Design Museum’s new Emerging Designer Access Fund – a pay-it-forward scheme supported by Bombay Sapphire that gives emerging artists and designers free access to the Design Museum’s exhibitions, talks and events.

“We are hugely grateful to everyone who has supported the museum so far by buying these everyday artworks online and in the Supermarket shop installation,” concludes Chanter.

By Anni Schleicher