Open call: Faraway, So Close

The Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) is launching an open call for participation in Faraway, So Close - 25th Biennial of Design curated by editor and curator Angela Rui and MAO curator Maja Vardjan. The open call is dedicated to designers, architects, filmmakers, graphic designers, interaction designers, illustrators, writers, animators, photographers, researchers and other interdisciplinary agents who see the biennial as an experimental, collaborative platform for testing, developing and sharing their own approaches and expertise within the issues and structure of the new biennial format.

As written in the curatorial statement: "New frictions emerge from the cohabitation of remote meanings and contemporary habits as we look for new territories to give meaning to, places to re-inhabit, ancient relations to re-enact, basic coexistences to re-imagine. Can friction between these diverse conditions produce new scenarios for a different present time?"

Selected participants will work with international creatives and local experts within seven teams: Underground Release with Studio Formafantasma and Andrej Detela, Occupying Woods with Matali Crasset and Matej Feguš, After Utopia with Point Supreme and Iztok Kovač, Brand New Coexistence with Didier Faustino and Mojca Kumerdej, Countryside Reloaded with Studio Mischer’Traxler and Klemen Košir, Resilience Of The Past with Studio Folder and Renata Salecl and New Heroes with Odo Fioravanti and Marin Medak. By testing disciplines outside their comfort zone, the teams of Faraway, So Close will present possible scenarios that enquire into global as well as local issues.

From May 25 to October 29, 2017 in Ljubljana, Faraway, So Close will present seven site-specific interventions along with the main exhibition and a catalogue.

Apply at bio.si!

Faraway, So Close timeline
Open call deadline: July 10, 2016
Selection of participants: July 2016
Kick-off event: September 2016
Process: autumn 2016–spring 2017
Exhibition opening: May 25, 2017
Open to the public: May 25 to October 29, 2017

About BIO
BIO – The Biennial of Design in Ljubljana is organised by Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) and is an international platform for new approaches in design. BIO was founded back in 1963, making it the first design biennial in Europe. Witnessing the many shifts and changes of the last 53 years, BIO has seen design transition from its birth at the crossroads of industrialization and modernism to a discipline that permeates all layers of life and human endeavour. Today BIO is structured as a long-term collaborative process, where teams of designers and multidisciplinary agents develop alternatives to established systems. The diverse array of topics resonates with both local and global demands, with its comprehensive projects aimed at creating resilient structures that develop over time, often beyond the duration of the Biennial.