‘THE GLOBAL GAME: REMAPPING COLLABORATIONS’

London Design Biennale announces the first confirmed exhibitors for its 2023 edition, taking place at Somerset House from 1-25 June. The theme of this year’s Biennale, ‘The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations,’ goes beyond borders and territories to enact new forms of international cooperation and participation through the medium of design.

The fourth edition continues the Biennale’s mission to demonstrate how design can better the world we inhabit. Exhibitors will share perspectives and solutions to some of the global issues that face humanity today, exploring areas from the urban environment to traditional practices, environmental sustainability to the humanitarian response to conflict.

Victoria Broackes, Director, London Design Biennale, said, “The previous Biennale took place towards the end of the global pandemic and once again the global context has drastically changed. Despite this, international design teams continue to demonstrate the possibilities of what can be achieved through design and design thinking. The Biennale is the place to see what is on people’s minds, across the world, right now. This year we will see exhibitors presenting design in all its forms - from ancient weaving traditions through futuristic urban planning, from AI systems to collaborative humanitarian efforts.”

The Nieuwe Instituut is experimenting with the Biennale’s format of national and territorial pavilions by asking participants to collaborate with the help of an online game. ‘The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations‘ prompts and encourages participants to find new ways of partnering with each other.

Aric Chen, General Director, Nieuwe Instituut, said, “The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations‘ aims to create an alternative geopolitical landscape driven not by competition nor conflict, but rather cooperation. We all agree that global challenges require global collaboration. This is easier said than done, but in some small way, we hope real international exchanges will arise from this biennial in a way that also invites visitors to become part of the process.”

The first exhibitors to be announced are: Abu Dhabi, the humanoid Ai-Da Robot, Automorph Network, Care Pavilion, Chatham House, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dubai, India, Malta, the Swiss museum Mudac, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, South Korea, Spain and Peru, Taiwan, The Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom and Ukraine.

In the courtyard, Malta will adapt the form of the ‘village square’, demarcated with fabrics using traditional PhoenicianMaltese dyes, to highlight ancient approaches to the urban environment and the chance encounters that they encourage. On the River Terrace, India will invoke the sensory impact of a ‘chowk’ – an open market at the junction of streets – through the visual metaphor of a charpai, a traditional woven daybed found across India.

Designers from across Ukraine will come together to draw on its history