Porto Design Biennale 2023

The Porto Design Biennale 2023 is an event that encourages discussion and diverse perspectives on design, promotes new discourses and practices that increase the prospective capacity of the subject to outline innovative solutions to collective problems. Design is a subject, and a verb that conveys action; in this sense, it has been imposing itself as an area of great importance to today’s society, with a fundamental role in the creation of new social, political, cultural, and environmental paradigms.

This major event, promoted in collaboration between two municipalities (Porto and Matosinhos), aims to act as a platform for the dialogue between civil society, academia, industry, institutions, and national and international cultural agents. It honors local identities and manufacturing while fostering discussions on globally relevant issues.

In this edition of Porto Design Biennale, a transdisciplinary laboratory platform dedicated to observation, reflection, creativity, and learning is proposed, which will act simultaneously in the visible and invisible, organic and inorganic, and ephemeral spectra of water. This platform-laboratory is “hydrated” through six proposals: 

  • Promethean Beasts: Shapes of the human 
  • Magic Reality: Living with the un/known 
  • Bodies of Water: Where water becomes common — vegetable matter, meat, mineral 
  • Dynamic Landscapes: Dancing margins, borders that don’t exist 
  • Flying Rivers: Rethinking the sources, uses, and representations of water 
  • Affective Geologies: The living history of a recipe 

From the interconnection between these six proposals, the aim is to develop and present strategies that contribute to acknowledge, repair, restore and cogitate new relationships with the world. In addition to designing better and more efficient uses of water, we must create models of alternative, symbiotic cohabitation between humans and more-than-humans, a beneficial and sustainable relationality for all. Learning from water reveals the complex and intricate web of interdependencies that connects us to the planet as a whole. 

Porto Design Biennale 2023

Where?
Porto & Matosinhos

When?
October 19th to December 3rd, 2023

Further information here.

 

Gemini Maria

this is a digital work from the series “People. Digitization” – a series of portraits that was started in August 2022.
self-portrait of an artist from a country at war. it’s about the duality of my life in connection with the situation in the country, about the anxiety and dark thoughts that have become my constant companions, about my frequent departures when my thoughts are with my family, and my body is somewhere in another city.

Fight!

Fight, 2022-2023
ceramic plate, porcelain marker, gold
diameter 21 cm

When Zeus decided to take Leda, he didn’t need her consent. I want to appeal to Europe: don’t be careless! Let’s stop evil together! Let’s not allow this nightmare become a reality.
Mariko Gelman’s ceramic plates illustrates that the price of freedom is to be torn apart, and then to be welded together forever with a golden vein.

Exhibitions: “3 days of design” festival, Copenhagen, Denmark (2022)

Gaby Black

Presentation poster of the author’s font IT Gabу Black. A powerful grotesque with wide proportions and a friendly character. Contains Latin Pro basic characters, Cyrillic and alternative letters of Ukrainian Cyrillic, as well as an experimental Ukrainian two-syllable ampersand for capital and lowercase letters (TA, та). The poster is intended for those who are interested in new fonts and their possibilities.

Extrazium

Presentation poster of the author’s font IT Extrazium. An elegant and slightly brutal, the font has all Open Type Latin Pro characters, Cyrillic, Ukrainian alternates, Vietnamese characters. The font has 12 styles normal and italic from Regular to Extra Bold. Supports change of punctuation depending on the case.

“Please smile Ukraine”

I tried to use happy colors and make it a little abstract.
Of course, a smile on the face for resistance and a circle with the color of the Ukrainian flag
As an Iranian, I am very ashamed and sorry that my country is helping Russia, and I am against this war at first, and my heart is with the people of Ukraine.

Despсrying (despair + crying)

Iʼve documented my feelings and experiences in Mariupol in 2022 and I believe that world needs to see, read, and feel this.

I was born, grew up and lived through russian environment in Mariupol. All photos used in zine were taken by me in my hometown.

Zine was created with aim of capturing condition of thousands of Ukrainians living in territories occupied by russian propaganda and later by army.

Zine is on A4, you can leave instructions and reader can cut it out.

Grow Poster

Marvel at the intricate details as cells multiply and flourish, representing the essence of growth and regeneration at the smallest scale. The poster invites you to explore the intricate beauty of cellular life and the incredible complexity that underlies all living organisms.

UNrest Poster

The poster’s design evokes the chaos and tension that often surround riots, with bold and dynamic imagery that conveys the intensity of the moment. It portrays the destructive aspects of such events, including theft, vandalism, and property damage, which can target a range of locations, from shops and cars to restaurants, state-owned institutions, and religious buildings.
“UNrest” serves as a reminder of the consequences of civil unrest while encouraging viewers to reflect on the causes and imp