FARAWAY, SO CLOSE
The 25th Biennial of Design in Ljubljana (BIO 25)

The Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), Ljubljana is thrilled to reveal the results of a collaborative effort that brought together more than 50 local and international designers, architects and other multidisciplinary agents. From May 25 to October 29, 2017, FARAWAY, SO CLOSE will present seven site-specific interventions along with the exhibition, accompanied by Associated Projects programe with lively events, exhibits and lectures that will animate the seven locations for the duration of the Biennial.

Curated by Angela Rui and Maja Vardjan, and organised by MAO, the 25th Biennial of Design FARAWAY, SO CLOSE responds to the idea that although the city remains the model within which the evolution of contemporary society is discussed and interpreted, we have recently been seeing a growing number of people that leave the city for other environments and contexts.

The theoretical appropriation of the so-called Alter-urban within the context of BIO 25 has been made possible by the de-centralization of the biennial itself, together with the physical observation and response of the participants.

The framework of FARAWAY, SO CLOSE is an experiment in formats: the designers have been asked to think of a potentially novel interpretation of a Slovenian local dimension in order to investigate new questions that can also be seen as crucial in a broader context.

International creative figures, called Translators, have been chosen for their ability to use design and architecture as tools to inquire into contemporary issues. Alongside them, selected Slovenian individuals from various fields, called Profiles, have offered their knowledge and experience as initial inspiration to start a discourse around design research efforts developed within BIO 25. Divided into seven episodes, participants develop possible scenarios as forms of speculation that respond to the question of inventing a common world, of realizing a global space for exchange.

Translators and Profiles, together with selected participants, developed their own interpretations within the frame of the seven given topics: Underground Release with Studio Formafantasma and Andrej Detela, set in the subterranean world of caves in the Mayor’s Cave, near Grosuplje; Occupying Woods with Matali Crasset and Matej Feguš in the wild forests of Kočevje; After Utopia with Point Supreme and Iztok Kovač responds to the remaining former mining infrastructure in Trbovlje; Brand New Coexistence with Didier Faustino and Mojca Kumerdej explores the failure of modernity in the urban context; Countryside Reloaded with Studio Mischer’Traxler and Klemen Košir researches a rural playground in the Lendava area; Resilience of the Past with Studio Folder and Renata Salecl explores a quiet Alpine setting near the Soča river that was once a raging battleground; and New Heroes with Odo Fioravanti and Marin Medak explores the theme of migration using the proximity of the sea off the Slovenian coast.

Save the dates
Opening week: May 24–28
Press conference & exhibition preview: May 25, 9:30am
BIO 25 talk: May 25, 7pm
Opening: May 25, 8pm

Find out more.

Press contact:
Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO)
Ana Kuntarič, ana.kuntaric [​at​] mao.si