Co-curators of the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial Beatriz Colomina and

Mark Wigley in conversation during Milan Design Week


Design by Özge Güven

The co-curators Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigleywill discuss the theme of the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial during Milan Design Week at the Year of Design World Preview 2016-2017hosted by Abitare and Jil Sander on Thursday, 14 April at 6-8pm, and at Atelier Clericiwith Joseph Grima and Jan Boelen on Friday, 15 April at 10-12am.

Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) andco-sponsored by EnkaFoundation and VitrA, the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial will be held from 22 October to 4 December 2016. Entitled ARE WE HUMAN? : The Design of the Species : 2 seconds, 2 days, 2 years, 200 years, 200,000 years, the biennial will explore the intimate relationship between the concepts of “design” and “human.”

Thursday 14 April 6pm,Istanbul Design Biennial at the Year of Design World Preview

The Year of Design World Preview 2016-2017, organised by Abitare in collaboration with Jil Sander, is being held from 11 to 14 April at the Milan headquarters of Jil Sander (Via Beltrami, 5), presenting a showcase of the key international design biennials and triennials through a multimedia exhibition, with live appearances by internationally acclaimed participants.

In a dedicated event on Thursday 14 April, the co-curators of the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial, Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, will discuss this year’s theme ARE WE HUMAN?: The Design of the Species : 2 seconds, 2 days, 2 years, 200 years, 200,000 years with Abitare Design Curator Marco Sammicheli, exploring the intimate relationship between the concepts of “design” and “human”.

A large installation of videos and projections designed by Paolo Giacomazzi will stage a special edition of Abitare Instant, dedicated to The Year of Design 2016-2017. A series of talks and performances will involve some of the key players on the international design scene. Special attention will be given to Istanbul, Venice and London, developing an itinerary across Europe.

Friday 15 April 10am, Istanbul Design Biennial at Atelier Clerici

Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley have been invited to participate at theindependent event and exhibition project Atelier Clerici at the centre of the Fuorisalone, situated in Milan’s distinguished Palazzo Clerici(Via Clerici, 5). The series of design discussions is hosted for the third year in the stunning setting, bringing together designers, companies and institutions experimenting with new forms of living and making.

In conversation with Joseph Grima,who co-curated the 1st Istanbul Design Biennial,and Jan Boelen, who curated BIO50 the 24th Biennial of Design in Ljubljana, Colomina and Wigley will discuss the theme of the 3rd Istanbul Design BiennialARE WE HUMAN?as a new archaeology of the continuous design of our species. As Colomina and Wigley state:

‘Design is the most human thing about us. Design is what makes the human. It is the basis of social life, from the very first artefacts to the exponential expansion of human capability. But design also engineers inequalities and new forms of neglect. More people than ever in history are forcibly displaced by war, lawlessness, poverty, and climate at the same time that the human genome and the weather are being actively redesigned. We can no longer reassure ourselves with the idea of “good design.” Design needs to be redesigned.

About the Istanbul Design Biennial

The Istanbul Design Biennial, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and taking place since 2012, aims to bring together a diverse cross section of design ideas, exploring a wide range of fields concerning design. Seeding ideas and fostering dialogue and intersections within the creative and academic community, the biennial operates on a network of national and international collaborations with cultural agents, institutions, universities and companies. Using the city as a dynamic space for projects, actions and interventions the biennial tackles global design problems by discussing the notion of design, stimulating critical debate, foregrounding underexplored or overlooked aspects of society and prompting further investigation into and exchange about emerging conditions of our world. Committed to design as a tool for understanding the complex role of design in today’s society the biennial as a progressive discussion platform is in permanent transformation.

For more details: arewehuman.iksv.org

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