In recent years Portugal is going through a moment of growth in many sectors, including design. So the birth of the Porto Design Biennale should come as no surprise, an event in the cities of Matosinhos and Porto to promote, stimulate and internationalize the thinking and practice of design.
The first edition will be held from 19 September to 8 December 2019, curated by the teacher and critic José Bártolo, previously curator of the exhibition “Duets” at the World Art Museum in Beijing and of the Portuguese Pavilion at the 21st Milan Triennale. The event is supported by the municipalities of Porto and Matosinhos, and organized by ESAD-IDEA, research in design and art, the research center of ESAD School of Arts and Design.
The program, around the theme of Post-Millennium Tension, provides wide-ranging reflections on the transformations happening in the new millennium, and the place of design in this evolving situation.
Post-Millennium Tension is composed of five exhibitions, two installations, two cycles of seminars, debates on digital culture and workshops.
Italy will play a leading role, with particular visibility as the first guest country of the event. Three exhibitions will contain objects that narrate the history of Italian design, covering technological inventions, production processes, socio-cultural changes, economic and political factors, that intertwine in a single movement: design.
