Episode 9: Mariana Pestana
In this episode we are hosting Mariana Pestana, the curator of the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial. Her research trajectories include critical social practice and the role of fiction in design; for an age marked by technological progress and an ecological crisis.
“What motivates me about curating design is the idea of the rehearsal. The exhibition creates its state of exception, where certain things can be enacted. It's almost like a suspended space between reality and fiction; where you're allowed to experiment and to imagine other possible worlds, other alternatives to how things are. And I find that extremely powerful.”
Mariana is an architect and independent curator based in London and Lisbon. She is a member of The Decorators, an interdisciplinary practice that makes collaborative public realm interventions and cultural programs. She formerly worked at the Department of Architecture, Design and Digital at the V&A Museum and lectured at Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, Royal College of Arts, Universidade do Minho and Sandberg Institute.
We delve into Mariana Pestana's works, her various collaborations and speculate about the future for design, and how design produces futures. The question of curating design, employing social typologies, and how design contributes to shaping the world are topics we touch upon. Along with her generous articulation of the current edition of the Istanbul Design Biennial, where we are also collaborating with her.
Episode Notes & Links
Curated by Mariana, the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial titled “Emphaty Revisited” is set to open on October 15th 2020. https://tasarimbienali.iksv.org/en/news/5th-istanbul-design-biennial-to-tackle-origins-of-empathy
Curated by Mariana and Rori Hyde, “Future Starts Here” was an exhibition at V&A Museum that took place in 2018. It posed questions about the ways that emerging technologies will affect our lives in the near future, and what choices we have, as citizens, to influence their development. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-the-future-starts-here-exhibition
Co-curated with Pedro Gadanho, “ECO VISIONARIES – ART AND ARCHITECTURE AFTER THE ANTHROPOCENE” at MAAT Lisbon centered on practices that propose critical and creative visions vis-à-vis the environmental transformations that are disturbing the world right now. https://www.maat.pt/index.php/en/exhibition/eco-visionaries-art-and-architecture-after-anthropocene
Studio Ossidiana is based in Rotterdam, working with an international team of architects, designers and researchers, and is actively involved locally and globally with projects across the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, and the US. http://www.studio-ossidiana.com/about
Founded by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, Dunne & Raby is a London based practice that uses design as a medium to stimulate discussion and debate amongst designers, industry and the public about the social, cultural and ethical implications of existing and emerging technologies. http://dunneandraby.co.uk/content/biography
Orkan Telhan is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and researcher whose investigations focus on the design of interrogative objects, interfaces, and media, engaging with critical issues in social, cultural, and environmental responsibility. https://www.orkantelhan.com/about
Elii is an office of architecture based in Madrid. http://elii.es/en/projects2/
The Decorators is a multidisciplinary design collective founded by Suzanne O’Connell, Xavi Llarch Font, Carolina Caicedo and Mariana Pestana. http://the-decorators.net/About
From November 2013 to April 2014, Chrisp Street Market was host to a project entitled 'Chrisp Street On Air' - a pilot exercise in rejuvenating London markets. The project, conceived by the Decorators, began with a radio station set up within the market and available online. The radio station invited locals to explore the market's history, character, and future. The radio component also informed a further programme of events in conjunction with local organisations, such as a boxing exhibition with the Lansbury Amateur Boxing Club. http://www.designcurial.com/news/this-is-temporary-transient-architecture-4802906/
public works is a not-for-profit critical design practice set up in 2004 that occupies the terrain in-between architecture, art and performance. https://www.publicworksgroup.net/about/
Tools for Conviviality is a 1973 book by Ivan Illich about the proper use of technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tools_for_Conviviality
Episode recorded on Zoom on October 2nd 2020. Interview by Can Altay. Produced by Aslı Altay & Sarp Renk Özer. Music by Grup Ses.