“Sharing by Design”<My Perfect Neighbours>

               Exhibition at Korean Cultural Centre UK

                                 22 Sept – 8 October 2009

Korea Design Foundation and Korean Cultural Centre UK(Affiliate body of the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism) host the opening ceremony of the exhibition designMADE2009 “Sharing by Design" on the 22nd of September at the Korean Cultural Centre U.K. in London. The exhibition is held from the 23rd of September until the 8th of October, simultaneously in the Korean Cultural Centre U.K. in London, Tent London, D+Gallery Seoul and Incheon International Airport Design Cube.

designMADE(Manifesto for Annual Design Exhibition)has made a statement of exhibiting new designs which differs from the existing passive exhibition culture. It has begun in 2005 and this year is designMADE's 5th anniversary. Following the former exhibitions 'Design Inside Festival of Design to see, hear and play'(2005), 'On-Line(2006)', 'It's Hotel(2007)', 'Saving by Design(2008)', this year's theme of 'Sharing by Design' will interpret the ordinary things we share in daily life as well as search for new ways to share which might not be familiar in the present.

Design that we share with 'my perfect neighbours'

The exhibition starts with an unexpected story which happened to my special neighbours who have managed to transcend time and space. The participant artists have imaginary professions and they propose ways to share with the neighbours. Neighbour would certainly mean the people next door but also my closest family and friends including the plant on the desk that I water daily or the chair I sit on every day. The paradox in the title 'My perfect neighbours' shows the unfamiliarity in its closeness thus the exhibition experiments on communication between the close but far neighbours. This trial is to search for the solution that design can offer for our problems of 'relation'.

Young designers mainly from Korea and Europe

The exhibition is specially co-curated by Daniel Charny, Senior Tutor of RCA and participating designers are mainly from Korea and Europe including F.A.S.T.( Jong-hoon KUK, Zinoo PARK, Pooroni RHEE, Esther LEE, IJEA, Ji-han JEON), Jang-sub LEE, MAEZM, Min Oh, Ming-sang Cho, Soo-jin Hyun, Household, Company, Jordi Canudas, The Mobile Workshop Group, Olivia Decaris, Nicolaas Rysenbry and Basurama. 13 design teams(or designers) were selected in total among which 6 teams are Korean and 7 are international teams.

Workshop events with designers

designMADE2009 has invited the team formed by graduates of RCA, the Mobile Workshop Group, before the opening of the exhibition, on 7-10 September to host a workshop. It is mostly intended for international students living in London to participate in the 'Workshop on new ways of sharing' at the Korean Cultural Centre U.K.

Accordingly, during the designMADE exhibition, the Spanish design group, Basurama, is invited to Seoul on 5-8 October to open a workshop with Korean students and designers at the D+Gallery of Korea Design Foundation, under the title 'Workshop on new methods of sharing things thrown away'.

Platform for international cultural exchange of design with experimental issues

designMADE dreams to leap a huge step ahead from the usual design giving aesthetic satisfaction to new orientation and experimental spirit of making designs from ordinary life scenes. It wishes to act as a platform for international cultural exchange of design and to give guidelines as to what should be a good design in the future.

Notes to editors

1. For the opening please RSVP to info@kccuk.org.uk or phone 020 7004 2600.

2. For queries relating to the Korean Cultural Centre UK and its exhibitions, please contact:  

Stephanie Seungmin Kim (Exhibition Manager)

Korean Cultural Centre UK

1-3 Strand, London, WC2N 5BW

Tel: 020 7004 2600

Email: seungmin.kim@kccuk.org.uk , www.kccuk.org.uk

Opening Times

Mon-Fri 10am-6pm

Sat 11am-5pm

Closed Sunday

Entry to the Korean Cultural Centre is free.

Nearest tube : Charing Cross/Embankment