In an unprecedented effort, more than 120 multidisciplinary participants from all over the world came together on 13 and 14 February for the kick-off of BIO 50, the 24th Biennial of Design in Ljubljana. The kick-off marked the beginning of a six-month collaborative process in which eleven teams will devise possible futures for design. At the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), curator Jan Boelen launched BIO 50 by referencing artist Francis Alÿs’ seminal 2002 work When Faith Moves Mountains as a metaphor for the exceptional scale of the collaborative process that brings together all participants in the Biennial who were selected by the curator, co-curators Maja Vardjan and Cvetka Požar and the mentors of each themes.
Following lectures on the Tricks, Tools and Traps of Collaboration by designer Thomas Lommée and researcher Liesbeth Huybrechts, more than 120 multidisciplinary participants from all over the world started work in the eleven themes of the Biennial: Affordable Living, Knowing Food, Public Water Public Space, Walking the City, Hidden Crafts, The Fashion System, Hacking Households, Nanotourism, Engine Blocks, Observing Space and Designing Life. The work will be guided by mentors Tadej Glažar, ProstoRož, Rianne Makkink, Lucas Mullié, Digna Kosse, Marko Fatur, Aldo Bakker, Marko Peterlin, Judith Seng, Tulga Beyerle, Tina Hočevar, Eugenia Morpurgo, Evan Frenkel, Tilen Sepič, Jesse Howard, Tina Gregorič and Aljoša Dekleva, Gaspard Tiné-Berès and Tristan Kopp, Tomos Research and Development Team, Miha Turšič, Nelly Ben Hayoun, Jurij Krpan and William Myers.
The energy in the MAO rooms was intense as team mentors and participants started working together. Field trips, brainstorming sessions and even a co-created dinner prepared by the Knowing food group launched the six-month period in which, with their diverse experiences, knowledge and motivation, each group will develop one or more projects to present at the Biennial.
From 18 September to 7 December in Ljubljana, Slovenia, BIO 50 will present the outcomes of each team’s work in an exhibition, and projects will be published in an accompanying publication. An international jury comprising industrial designer Konstantin Grcic, design critic Alice Rawsthorn and designer and educator Saša J. Mächtig will grant an Award for Best Collaboration.
Each team’s work process will be comprehensively documented on the BIO 50 website, as well as on the Biennial’s dedicated social media channels on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
On the year of its 50th anniversary, the Biennial of Design in Ljubljana advances into an experimental, collaborative territory, building on the event’s tradition and history. The main show will be accompanied by an exhibition on the Biennial’s fifty years of history, shedding light on the transformation and shifts in the discipline of design, our society, and ultimately everyday life. Alongside these visions of the future and reflections on the past, a lively program of events, exhibits and lectures will animate the city of Ljubljana for the duration of the Biennial.
Museum of Architecture and Design
Biennial of Design
Pot na Fužine 2
SI-1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
www.bio.si
www.mao.si
