Porto Design Biennale 2019
December 08, 2019
An Overview of the first edition of the Biennale
The 1st edition of Porto Design Biennale gathered around 50.000 people over 81 days. An extensive programme of around 300 projects and 60 events (such as exhibitions, workshops, performances, installations, and talks) has been presented in 37 venues in Porto and Matosinhos. The next edition, to take place in 2021, will be announced in March next year.
The Biennale’s 1st edition succeeded in showing design as a key disciplinary field to address contemporary global issues. Design has the capacity to approach numerous dimensions of our contemporaneity, being at the intersection of frontiers and disciplines and activating a wide variety of partnerships. This edition of the Biennale also showed the vitality of Portuguese design, presenting the industry, design education, practice and criticism, as well as the relevance of curatorial proposals in the national context.
Over 81 days, some 300 projects were presented, including 17 exhibitions, 22 workshops, and 25 conferences/presentations, involving 20 curators and 310 participants from 18 nationalities. The Biennale was made in the territory, with the territory, activating 37 spaces/venues in Porto and Matosinhos, blurring the differences between the cities.