Fikra Graphic Design Biennial 01
Taking place in the UAE from 9 November 2018, Fikra Graphic Design Biennial 01 is a pioneering event exploring the value, impact and meaning of graphic design in the social, cultural and political contexts of the modern day – and its power to shape them in future. Conceived and organised by Sharjah-based design practice and platform Fikra, along with Artistic Directors Prem Krishnamurthy, Emily Smith and Na Kim, the biennial is the first event of its kind in the region, bringing together designers, institutions and influencers from across the global graphic design spectrum. Through a three-week programme of exhibitions, talks, workshops, performances and other events, the biennial aims to give Middle Eastern designers a much-needed platform to participate in international design discourse, to nurture local and international collaboration, and to explore the evolving role of graphic design in the 21st century. The inaugural theme, ‘Ministry of Graphic Design’, mimics UAE governmental structures, presenting a series of 'fictional departments’ (such as the Department of Non-Binaries and the Department of Flying Saucers), each exploring a distinct area within – and beyond – the graphic design discipline.
WHAT WE DID FOR Fikra Graphic Design Biennial 01
NEWS + IDEAS FEATURES
Mapping Margins at Fikra Graphic Design Biennial 01
The Middle East’s first graphic design biennial opened in Sharjah last week, bringing together practitioners that test the discipline’s limits, scope and purpose in the rapidly changing world of the 21st century. For a jam-packed 21 days, the festival’s Department of Mapping Margins is a space where talks, events and interactions reflect on the state of graphic design’s power to address cross-cultural questions, overlapping working methods, conditions and models.
Introducing Sharjah's first graphic design biennial
The UAE's visionary, ground-breaking and entirely fictitious government department – the Ministry of Graphic Design – opened its doors today in Sharjah, marking the beginning of an extraordinary and multifaceted three-week examination of contemporary graphic design and what it means for the world today.
Dispatches from the Department of Non-Binaries
‘We have much to gain from conversations with one another across our differences’ – we chat to Nina Paim and Corinne Gisel of Swiss studio common-interest, who are investigating the importance of in-between spaces, non-fixed identities and how to use ambiguity to bridge divisive politics, as part of their installations at Fikra Graphic Design Biennial this month.
Introducing Fikra Graphic Design Biennial 01
The only graphic design-focused event of its size and scope in the Middle East, Fikra’s inaugural biennial sets out to celebrate design innovation in the UAE, and explore the impact and implications of the discipline in the 21st century.
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