Collective City
September 7–November 10, 2019
The 2019 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU) is scheduled to open this September as the main exhibition in Dongdaemun Design Plaza under the theme of Collective City.
The Seoul Biennale will provide a public forum for the exchange of ideas, discussions and to provoke change in the way we engage with and develop our cities. SBAU aims to reclaim the agency of architecture and redefine cities, exploring models of resistance and collectivity to reimagine how a citizenry can engage with the city. At a time when society and the urban fabric around them, is increasingly unequal and segregated, the Biennale asks for critical reflection on how our cities continue to develop and what tools and strategies should be deployed to transform them into collective spaces.
SBAU will unpack, expose and celebrate a diverse range of knowledge, expertise and experiences from cities around the world through the four sites: Thematic Exhibition, Cities Exhibition, Global Studios and On-site Projects.
Venues and sites
The venues trace the historical city boundary of Seoul, connecting across the city and creating an opportunity to explore the city itself through the exhibitions and events. The two anchor sites are at the Eastern and Western gates of the old city with the Thematic Exhibition at DDP and the Cities Exhibition at the Donuimun Museum Village. At the center, is the Seoul Hall of Urbanism & Architecture which is the first dedicated exhibition venue for urbanism and architecture in South Korea. Built on the site of great historical significance within Seoul, the Hall is a cultural asset to be enjoyed by all. Connecting across the central axis of the city between these sites is the Sewoon Plaza and Daelim Plaza that will host the Global Studios and Live Projects exhibitions.
Cities Exhibition
Curator: Dongwoo Yim, Rafael Luna
Venue: Donuimun Museum Village, Seoul Hall of Urbanism & Architecture
Under the overarching theme of the Collective City, the SBAU 2019 Cities Exhibition is a platform for discussing core issues and pressing themes raised by approximately 80 participating cities. The goal of this year’s discussion is to better understand the collective consequences of connections and meetings between cities.
This concept of “cities as a collective consequence” highlights cities not only as an aggregated environment but as living, dynamic systems that are constantly changing. The fragmented nature of Donuimun Museum Village, reflects the contemporary condition of many cities around the world, highlighting that independent of the geographical divides, cultural differences and physical boundaries that separate cities, there is a multitude of common questions, experience and overlap, spaces of intersection and co-existence, that is shared territory for speculation and debate.
It is against this backdrop that the SBAU 2019 aims to demonstrate how cities as a collective consequence are simultaneously separated and connected with each other at any given time.
Cities Exhibition Co-Curator: Yim Dongwoo
Yim is an assistant professor at Hongik University and co-founder of PRAUD, and received a master’s degree at Harvard University. He is the author of Unprecedented Pyongyang, North Korean Atlas, and I Want to be METROPOLITAN, and the winner of the Architectural League Prize 2013. He is participating artist to the Korean Pavilion of 2014 Venice Biennale which won the Golden Lion, and was the curator of PyongYangSalLim in 2017 Seoul Biennale and Factory for Urban Living in 2018.
Cities Exhibition Co-Curator: Rafael Luna
Luna is an assistant professor at Hanyang University and co-founder of the architecture firm PRAUD. He received a Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Luna’s research focuses on infra-architectural hybrids as systems for urban efficiency, with essays on the subject published in MONU, IntAR Journal, Inner Magazine, and Studio Magazine. Luna is the award winner of the Architectural League Prize 2013, and his work has been exhibited at the MoMA, Venice Biennale, Seoul Biennale.
Contact
seoulbiennale [at] gmail.com
info [at] seoulbiennale.org / T +82 2 2096 0108
