Arup at Gwangju Design Biennale 2011

Arup was amongst 130 architects, artists and designers from 44 countries invited to show at the Gwangju Design Biennale, South Korea 2011. Directed by Ai Weiwei and Seung H-Sang the exhibition offered a rich spectrum of contemporary global trends in design. Themes as diverse as genetic modification, military technology and climate engineering were explored through architecture, graphic design, film and fashion. Jennifer Greitschus (Arup Foresight) and Alicia Comella (Artificial Tourism) created a video wall of live-streamed responses to Drivers of Change as part of the Named design section curated by Minsuk Cho (designer of the South Korean pavilion, Shanghai Expo 2010) and Anthony Fontenot. Working with curator Soik Jung and a team of local students , the wall evolved and expanded its collection of videos and texts during the exhibition. Independent publisher Edit-the-World led by Jeongtae Kim sponsored the translation into Korean of the Drivers of Change publication, which is now available for sale in Korea: http://www.yes24.com/24/goods/5785480

On 3 September 2011 pupils from the Haja Centre, Seoul, participated in a workshop led by Jennifer Greitschus in collaboration with the Biennale Foundation. The young participants developed a creative response to the drivers of change cards including a drumming session outside the Old Railway Station, Seoul:

Two workshops led by Chris Luebkeman in Seoul and Gwangju, in association with the Biennale Foundation, on 16th and 17th Sept were met with enthusiasm from Korean participants keen on planning for a sustainable future.

Following the exhibition and the printing of the cards, Teong, one of the UN’s 100 Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) in education for sustainable development, decided at a conference in December 2011 to integrate the Korean DoC cards into its education programme.