We live inan era here everything’s designed – it’s gotten to the point where it’s no longer advisable to rely on “good design” and the discussion is focused instead on redesigning design itself. This is the main idea behind the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial organized by İKSV. As evidenced by its theme, “Are We Human? The Design of the Species: 2 seconds, 2 days, 2 years, 200 years, 200,000 years,” this year’s event seeks to trace the relationship between mankind and design. The Istanbul Design Biennial opens on October 22 at five different venues, all of which can be visited free of charge. This year’s venues are the Galata Private Greek Elementary School, Studio-X Istanbul and DEPO in Karaköy; Alt art space in Bomonti and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums in Fatih, which can be toured with a museum admission ticket.
The Biennial features four overlapping “clouds” of projects: Designing the Body, Designing the Planet, Designing Life and Designing Time. Istanbulites will get to view more than 70 projects by designers, architects, artists, historians, archeologists and scientists from 13 countries. The curators of this year’s event are Beatriz Colomina, an architecture historian and theorist who is also the founding director of Princeton University’s Program in Media and Modernity; and Mark Wigley, an architecture historian, theorist, critic and the dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
Visitors can tour the exhibitions at the Galata Private Greek Elementary School, Studio-X Istanbul and DEPO Tue-Sun 10.00-19.00; Alt, Tue-Sun 13.00-21.00; and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, daily 09.00-19.00. There are also guided tours at the Galata Private Greek Elementary School, Studio-X Istanbul and Alt throughout the duration of the Istanbul Design Biennial.