The 2nd Istanbul Design Biennial will take place between 1 November to 14 December 2014. Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), and curated by Zoë Ryan, the theme of this year’s edition is The Future Is Not What It Used To Be.
Under this overarching title, Zoë Ryan revisits the manifesto as a platform and catalyst for critical thinking in design. The biennial asks, how can we reclaim the manifesto for the 21st century and beyond, not only in the production of texts, but through actions, services, provocations, or objects and seize the potential to incite inventive outcomes?
Selected through a two stage call for ideas, Ryan sought manifestos that opened new attitudes and sensibilities, highlighted underexplored or overlooked aspects of society, and prompted further investigation and exchange about our designed and constructed age. Over 800 submissions from both Turkish and international designers were received, with 75 dynamic projects selected for inclusion. These projects imagine a new future and instigate change by building on and reinterpreting history, changing both in the process.
The projects include LEPSIS: The Art of Growing Grasshoppers, by Mansour Ourasanah from San Francisco, which addresses the implications of a growing world population and imminent global food shortage through the cultivation of grasshoppers for human consumption; Alternative Bug Out Bags, kits for short-term evacuation after a disaster by Jessica Charlesworth & Tim Parsons from Chicago; Tweeting Architecture: What hath 140 characters wrought!, a visualisation of a dynamic data network from a pool of design related tweets by Istanbul-based architects Cansu Cürgen and Eren Tekin; and #occupygezi architecture, by the Istanbul-based non-profit organisation Herkes İçin Mimarlık (Architecture for All), which examines what happens when architecture is removed from architects in cases such as the global Occupy protests.
There will be an opportunity for the visitor to commission a bespoke manifesto from the Italian ABC Manifesto Corporation Writers and Consultants by DisturbATICollective; and for reflection and interpretation at The Future Is Not What It Used to Be Reading Room Project, by graphic designers Future Anecdotes Istanbul, which will offer a space with books and other reading material.
Exhibitions will be presented at the Galata Greek Primary School, which will serve as the biennial hub, and at ‘pop-up’ locations throughout the city. They will cover fields of design, technology, fashion, graphics, urbanism, product design, film and food, with a lively day and evening programme for all ages. A full venue and events programme of the 2nd edition of the Istanbul Design Biennial including the academy programme, workshops, design walks, film screenings, seminars and panels will be announced later in 2014.
Istanbul Design Biennial
Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts
Sadi Konuralp Caddesi No:5
Şişhane 34433 Istanbul
T +90 212 334 07 66
