Concept of Design Biennial announced

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet File Photo from the first Istanbul Design Biennial entitled "Imperfection."

The third Istanbul Design Biennial will be held from Oct. 22 to Dec. 4, 2016, under the auspices of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with a focus on the connection between design and humanity.

Curators Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley announced the concept of the biennial at a meeting held Dec. 1 at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums Library.

The third Istanbul Design Biennial is entitled “ARE WE HUMAN? : The Design of the Species : 2 seconds, 2 days, 2 years, 200 years, 200,000 years” and will explore the intimate relationship between the concepts of “design” and “human.”

“Design always presents itself as serving the human but its real ambition is to redesign the human. The history of design is therefore a history of evolving conceptions of the human. To talk about design is to talk about the state of our species. Humans have always been radically reshaped by the designs they produce and the world of design keeps expanding,” Colomina and Wigley said.

The curators also explained that this biennial was an archaeological project. “It will be a multi-media documentary about the state of design today, when everyday reality has outpaced science fiction. It will place the extreme condition of contemporary design into the context of the extended 200,000 year history of our species – from the first standardized ornaments and the footprints of the first shoes to the latest digital and carbon footprints,” said the curators. 

A number of young Turkish graphic designers will work on different dimensions of the biennial, from the streets to publications, the exhibition and online activities. Exhibitions will be held at the Galata Greek Primary School, DEPO and Studio-X.