Istanbul Design Biennial

Taking place from the 13^th of October until the 12^th of December, of 2012, the first Design Biennial in Istanbul, Turkey, aims to attract the international art, design and architecture community to this bustling with life metropolis on the Bosporus.

With the aim of underlining the importance of design for production, economy, cultural interaction and quality of life, this first Biennial will be realised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. The Biennial will be open to all disciplines of the creative industries in major fields such as urban design, architecture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design, new media design and fashion design, as well as their subfields. 

Istanbul Design Biennial will take place in two distinct exhibition spaces under the curatorship of Emre Arolat and Joseph Grima, within the framework of the theme “Imperfection”, as suggested by Deyan Sudjic, Istanbul Design Biennial advisory board member and Director of the Design Museum in London.

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left.   'prodUSER' by tristan kopp

right. 'kiosk 2.0' mobile 3D printer station, by Unfold

Emre Arolat’s exhibition “Musibet” in Istanbul Modern and Joseph Grima’s exhibition “Adhocracy” in Galata Greek Primary School will bring together roughly 100 projects of more than 200 designers and architects from 46 countries, with works ranging from random objects, video installations, models, open air settings and photographs to interactive works where visitors can create their own designs. Along with main exhibitions in two venues, events will be spread across the city through Academic Programme, Workshops, Parallel Participants’ Events and Design Walks. Biennial will present different axes of debate on design to the attention of Istanbul’s cultural life through the Film Screenings, debates and panels.

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left.   'Filter for Open Source Water Boiler' by Belgian design studio Unfold

right. 'Keystones' by Rotterdam design studio Minale-Maeda

Design Walks to be organized within the scope of the Istanbul Design Biennial in sponsorship of Pırlant will offer opportunities to visit more than 90 shops, workshops, manufacturing shops and architectural structures selected on the premise of their design. These Design Walks that will include religious structures in Kuzguncuk to shoe design and manufacture workshops in Nişantaşı; wrought copper masters in Grand Bazaar to jewelry design shops and workshops in Çukurcuma will enrich the participants’ understanding and experiences on design. Design Walks will start on November and will be composed of 7 distinct routes. For more detailed information on Design Walks, ticket prices and participation you can contact designwalk@istanbuldesignbiennial.org