May 25^th, 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale D-100

Participating artists and artworks finalized; Internal and external promotion accelerated; SNS advertisement successful!

Artists and artworks of 4^th Gwangju Design Biennale have been finalized. With100 days left until the opening, the Biennale has hit a stride in exhibition preparation and publicity.

● Exhibition Preparations in Progress

Over 260 designers and corporations from more than 40 countries are scheduled to exhibit 137 pieces at the 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale.

News relating to the Biennale will be discussed under the six main sections of the Biennale:  Academy, Named, Un-Named, Urban Follies, Communities, and Biennale City.  Having finalized the list of participating artists and artworks, the preparation of each exhibition is progressing smoothly.

The ‘Thematic’ section presents varied interpretations of the title theme of the Biennale; dogadobisangdo 圖可圖非常圖: Design is design is not design. 10 designers and design firms from 5 different countries will interpret ‘dogadobisangdo’ through their artistic practice. The ‘Thematic’ section will introduce the exhibitions of the Biennale with interactive images by ‘Ahn Graphics’ and the Gwangju Design Biennale logo, designed by Professor Ahn Sang-Su.

The ‘Named’ section presents the work of contemporary designers in the established design disciplines, such as art, architecture, fashion, graphics, industrial design, etc. 50 contemporary artists and firms from 20 countries worldwide will be exhibited. Exploring the theme ‘Everyone has a name,’ Bruce Mau Design (Canada) will install a stenciled wall of ideas gathered through Twitter. The Danish group ‘Superflex’ will show a 12-minute-long video piece, which reinterprets the economic crisis. And, in ‘Drivers of Change,’ the British firm ARUP plans to raise environmental concerns as a main dilemma of contemporary society. In their exhibit, Arup will create as space where the audience can respond to and debate a number of pressing environmental challenges. 

Over the past century design has been repeatedly altered to reflect changes in the political climate, elite preferences, or popular mood. The ‘Un-named’ section questions the contemporary definition of design and challenges the myth of the designer. The American photographer, Trevor Paglen, will exhibit scanned shoulder patches of various secret military organizations in the United States of America. Enshrined in a 3 meter wide by 50 centimeter long frame, these patches evoke  military, historical, and religious symbolisms and meanings. TD Architects (Austria) will disclose the legacy of the space industry utilizing a diagram of not only satellites circulating around the earth, but also that of a tremendous amount of inoperative satellites.

The ‘Communities’ section asks “what is design?” in the context of the relations between place and non-place, consumption and production, and finally, participation and aesthetics. ‘Communities’ will present 10 pieces by 40 designers and firms from 15 different countries.

The ‘Biennale City’ refers to the section that organizes and designs the exhibition space. Currently, the exhibition layout has been confirmed and we are working on the details.

On May 12^th, the ‘Urban Follies’ section had its groundbreaking ceremony and officially began construction. The ‘Urban Follies’ projects are scheduled for completion by the opening of Design Biennale on September 2^nd.

Delivery of artworks will be finished by the end of early July.

In late July and early August, artworks are planned to be installed.

● Hosting the International Public Relations Presentation

At the Beijing and Gwangju publicity presentations, the Biennale foundation promoted international public relations and built up its international network. Furthermore, in order to establish a high international stature and to garner more attention and participation, we will host International Night and make presentations in Barcelona, Venice, and London during May 31^st to June 6^th.

The first agenda on the European promotion schedule of the Biennale foundation is to visit Barcelona City Hall and sign an agreement between Barcelona and Gwangju. On May 31^st, the Co-artistic Director, curators and four of the Urban Follies artists will participate in the event, including a seminar and discussion. On the following day, June 2^nd, Gwangju and Italia Friuli will sign a contract on MOU.

In Venice, on June 3^rd , the Gwangju Biennale foundation will enter into MOU with the World Biennale foundation to successfully co-host the World Biennale next year. Furthermore, more than 50 international presses, design professionals and European international figures will attend the publicity presentation. Director Seung H-Sang will briefly explain the outline of exhibition followed by various programs prepared for international public relations.

On June 4^th, Co-Artistic Directors of 9th Gwangju Biennale 2012 and Yongwoo Lee, CEO of the Gwangju Biennale, will attend a meeting to discuss the direction of the next Biennale.

On June 6^th, the London Public Relations Presentation will be held in conjunction with London Biennale Academy. The London Academy will take place at the London Metropolitan University and include scholarly presentations and debates relating to the Communities and Biennale City sections of the 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale. After the event, European designers, press, and officials will attend the Design Biennale Reception at the Gopher Hole, London.

● Social Network Service Promotion, Publicity Honorary Ambassador

 TFT is also accelerating domestic promotion. The Gwangju Biennale Foundation composed TFT in early April and by mid- May finished promotion in about 300 education offices, high schools and universities in Chonbuk, Gwangju, Choongnam and Daejon. Seoul promotion is now at its height.

In addition, the Gwangju Biennale is striving to communicate with citizens via Twitter and Facebook. Constant management succeeded in capturing 20,000 followers in the first six months and as of May 2011, we are only a step away from reaching 100,000 followers around the world. The 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale exhibition will really begin to take shape by June, so we plan to provide regular updates of the exhibitions and related events on our website. Furthermore, for the convenience of followers overseas, the information will also be provided in English and Japanese.

To establish the public image of the Design Biennale, the foundation will nominate a celebrity Public Relations Ambassador. Naming the Ambassador by the end of May, the Design Biennale will push further ahead on its promotion.

The 4th Gwangu Design Biennale seeks to place and name the fundamental issues of contemporary design. The title of the Biennale, 圖可圖非常圖, adopts but replaces 道(do) with 圖(do) in No Ja’s first sentence. The Chinese character 圖 (do) means to draw. It was once used to denote design as a formal practice. To create complex human environments within the frame of a specific medium, 圖 was an issue of place and human relations. In this sense, The Gwangju Design Biennale exhibits the complexity of contemporary conditions and allows for new and unexpected concepts, practices, and social relations.

May 25^th, 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale D-100

Participating artists and artworks finalized; Internal and external promotion accelerated; SNS advertisement successful!

Artists and artworks of 4^th Gwangju Design Biennale have been finalized. With100 days left until the opening, the Biennale has hit a stride in exhibition preparation and publicity.

● Exhibition Preparations in Progress

Over 260 designers and corporations from more than 40 countries are scheduled to exhibit 137 pieces at the 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale.

News relating to the Biennale will be discussed under the six main sections of the Biennale:  Academy, Named, Un-Named, Urban Follies, Communities, and Biennale City.  Having finalized the list of participating artists and artworks, the preparation of each exhibition is progressing smoothly.

The ‘Thematic’ section presents varied interpretations of the title theme of the Biennale; dogadobisangdo 圖可圖非常圖: Design is design is not design. 10 designers and design firms from 5 different countries will interpret ‘dogadobisangdo’ through their artistic practice. The ‘Thematic’ section will introduce the exhibitions of the Biennale with interactive images by ‘Ahn Graphics’ and the Gwangju Design Biennale logo, designed by Professor Ahn Sang-Su.

The ‘Named’ section presents the work of contemporary designers in the established design disciplines, such as art, architecture, fashion, graphics, industrial design, etc. 50 contemporary artists and firms from 20 countries worldwide will be exhibited. Exploring the theme ‘Everyone has a name,’ Bruce Mau Design (Canada) will install a stenciled wall of ideas gathered through Twitter. The Danish group ‘Superflex’ will show a 12-minute-long video piece, which reinterprets the economic crisis. And, in ‘Drivers of Change,’ the British firm ARUP plans to raise environmental concerns as a main dilemma of contemporary society. In their exhibit, Arup will create as space where the audience can respond to and debate a number of pressing environmental challenges. 

Over the past century design has been repeatedly altered to reflect changes in the political climate, elite preferences, or popular mood. The ‘Un-named’ section questions the contemporary definition of design and challenges the myth of the designer. The American photographer, Trevor Paglen, will exhibit scanned shoulder patches of various secret military organizations in the United States of America. Enshrined in a 3 meter wide by 50 centimeter long frame, these patches evoke  military, historical, and religious symbolisms and meanings. TD Architects (Austria) will disclose the legacy of the space industry utilizing a diagram of not only satellites circulating around the earth, but also that of a tremendous amount of inoperative satellites.

The ‘Communities’ section asks “what is design?” in the context of the relations between place and non-place, consumption and production, and finally, participation and aesthetics. ‘Communities’ will present 10 pieces by 40 designers and firms from 15 different countries.

The ‘Biennale City’ refers to the section that organizes and designs the exhibition space. Currently, the exhibition layout has been confirmed and we are working on the details.

On May 12^th, the ‘Urban Follies’ section had its groundbreaking ceremony and officially began construction. The ‘Urban Follies’ projects are scheduled for completion by the opening of Design Biennale on September 2^nd.

Delivery of artworks will be finished by the end of early July.

In late July and early August, artworks are planned to be installed.

● Hosting the International Public Relations Presentation

At the Beijing and Gwangju publicity presentations, the Biennale foundation promoted international public relations and built up its international network. Furthermore, in order to establish a high international stature and to garner more attention and participation, we will host International Night and make presentations in Barcelona, Venice, and London during May 31^st to June 6^th.

The first agenda on the European promotion schedule of the Biennale foundation is to visit Barcelona City Hall and sign an agreement between Barcelona and Gwangju. On May 31^st, the Co-artistic Director, curators and four of the Urban Follies artists will participate in the event, including a seminar and discussion. On the following day, June 2^nd, Gwangju and Italia Friuli will sign a contract on MOU.

In Venice, on June 3^rd , the Gwangju Biennale foundation will enter into MOU with the World Biennale foundation to successfully co-host the World Biennale next year. Furthermore, more than 50 international presses, design professionals and European international figures will attend the publicity presentation. Director Seung H-Sang will briefly explain the outline of exhibition followed by various programs prepared for international public relations.

On June 4^th, Co-Artistic Directors of 9th Gwangju Biennale 2012 and Yongwoo Lee, CEO of the Gwangju Biennale, will attend a meeting to discuss the direction of the next Biennale.

On June 6^th, the London Public Relations Presentation will be held in conjunction with London Biennale Academy. The London Academy will take place at the London Metropolitan University and include scholarly presentations and debates relating to the Communities and Biennale City sections of the 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale. After the event, European designers, press, and officials will attend the Design Biennale Reception at the Gopher Hole, London.

● Social Network Service Promotion, Publicity Honorary Ambassador

 TFT is also accelerating domestic promotion. The Gwangju Biennale Foundation composed TFT in early April and by mid- May finished promotion in about 300 education offices, high schools and universities in Chonbuk, Gwangju, Choongnam and Daejon. Seoul promotion is now at its height.

In addition, the Gwangju Biennale is striving to communicate with citizens via Twitter and Facebook. Constant management succeeded in capturing 20,000 followers in the first six months and as of May 2011, we are only a step away from reaching 100,000 followers around the world. The 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale exhibition will really begin to take shape by June, so we plan to provide regular updates of the exhibitions and related events on our website. Furthermore, for the convenience of followers overseas, the information will also be provided in English and Japanese.

To establish the public image of the Design Biennale, the foundation will nominate a celebrity Public Relations Ambassador. Naming the Ambassador by the end of May, the Design Biennale will push further ahead on its promotion.

The 4th Gwangu Design Biennale seeks to place and name the fundamental issues of contemporary design. The title of the Biennale, 圖可圖非常圖, adopts but replaces 道(do) with 圖(do) in No Ja’s first sentence. The Chinese character 圖 (do) means to draw. It was once used to denote design as a formal practice. To create complex human environments within the frame of a specific medium, 圖 was an issue of place and human relations. In this sense, The Gwangju Design Biennale exhibits the complexity of contemporary conditions and allows for new and unexpected concepts, practices, and social relations.