Porto Design Biennale announces dates, theme and curator

There are already dates for the 2023 edition of the Porto Design Biennale. Taking place between October 19th and December 3rd in the cities of Porto and Matosinhos, the third edition of the event will have as its central theme Ser Água – How we flow and shape ourselves collectively, enhancing the meeting of national and international voices in a debate on one of the most essential and indispensable natural elements: Water. Under the curatorship of Fernando Brízio, the set of exhibitions, conferences, workshops and publications that make up the programmatic structure of the Porto Design Biennale, intends to be, thus, an incubator of responses to the complex challenges that society faces, continuously working to shape to more sustainable, equitable, free and happy futures. In the spotlight, as a guest country, will be Spain, in a program that works on the close relationship with the territory and industry in Galicia, curated by David Barro.

Fernando Brízio was born in Angola, studied Design in Lisbon, the city where he lives and works. It has developed products for industry, limited series, exhibitions, sets and spaces for companies and organizations. His work has been exhibited and published internationally, and is sometimes developed independently, blurring disciplinary boundaries.
Brízio has been teaching at ESAD.CR since 1999, where he conceived and coordinated several courses in the areas of product and space design. He was a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts Lisbon-UL and guest professor at several schools such as ECAL — École Cantonale d'Art in Lausanne, HFG — Karlsruhe University of Art Design and FCSH at Universidade Nova de Lisboa. He has participated in juries and lectures in Portugal and abroad. He has curated several projects and exhibitions, including SCool Ibérica (ExperimentaDesign 2005: Bienal de Lisboa) and Paradisaea Lux Frágil 20 anos, in 2018. His works are part of the permanent collection of MUDE — Museu do Design e da Moda de Lisboa, and the IMA — Indianapolis Museum of Art, among other collections. Currently, in addition to continuing to make projects, he is a researcher at Lida — Laboratory in Design and Arts of the Polytechnic of Leiria and at the College of Arts of the University of Coimbra.
The Open Calls for Proposals for the Satellite Activities of the Porto Design Biennale are also open. Taking place between April 19 and June 26, it invites designers and cultural agents to present projects that explore different forms of action in the form of debates, workshops, publications, interventions, among others. Projects will be valued that propose critical interpretations of the general theme of this edition, that manage to rethink the traditional formats of public presentation and that broaden the reach of audiences reached and the ways of interacting with them. Monetary support is granted for this purpose. Details can be found on the event's website.

The Porto Design Biennale 2023 intends to foster debate, welcome concerns and multiple perspectives, as well as stimulate interest in Design, promoting new discourses and practices that increase the prospective capacity of the discipline to outline innovative solutions to collective problems. The event, promoted in collaboration between two municipalities (Porto and Matosinhos), seeks to be a platform for dialogue between civil society, academia, industry, institutions and national and international cultural agents. With a commitment to the territory and local identities, and valuing manufacturing and materiality, the Porto Design Biennale configures a thinking exercise with a broad spectrum and involvement, starting from the context and local dynamics to generate speculation and debate on issues of global scope.
The Porto Design Biennale is promoted by the municipalities of Porto and Matosinhos and organized by esad—idea.