Istanbul Design Biennale 2014
This month welcomes the second Istanbul Design Biennial. Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, which has appointed Zoë Ryan – chair and curator of architecture and design at the Art Institute of Chicago – as curator.
A dynamic six-week programme of exhibitions and events takes place as designers respond to the theme 'the future is not what it used to be' by using it as a platform and catalyst for critical thinking in design within the fields of technology, fashion, graphics, urbanism, product design, film and food. Istanbul will showcase work by more than 50 practices and designers from all over the world, including Forma Fantasma, Moisés Hernández, MEX, Architecture for All and Bless (above) in the biennial hub, the Galata Greek Primary School, and pop-up locations.
Accompanying the exhibitions is an academy programme, hosted by Kadir Has University's Faculty of Art and Design in Istanbul and featuring more than 60 departments in some 30 universities in Turkey and abroad. The architecture departments of the Oslo School of Architecture and Design - AHO (Norway), Graz University of Technology (Austria), universities of Oregon and Yale (USA), and the Interior Design Department of the University of Oregon will participate in the programme, among other institutions. The universities will organise workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions, seminars and special projects with students, to interpret and provide different angles on the event's theme.
The show's organisers say participants at this year's biennale will encourage new design attitudes by highlighting underexplored or overlooked aspects of society to prompt future investigation. Issues such as disaster relief, global food shortage, social media, as well as our personal identity and issues of beauty, hints that this biennale will be nothing short of inspiring.tasarimbienali.iksv.org/en
