Back in February, we shared SPACE10’s latest residency, ‘Tomorrow’s Materials’, which investigates biomaterials in Mexico City. To coincide with this, the Copenhagen-based research & design lab supported by IKEA will also be running a two-week design pop-up starting on 26 March 2022. The event will take place at LOOT in Mexico City, and will feature a range of workshops, daily panels, keynotes, radio shows (available worldwide), as well as immersive food & drink experiences and exhibitions. For 14 days, visitors will be invited to discover ‘Beyond Human-Centred Design’, a unique opportunity to contemplate how design can better support the plurality of life on Earth.
As SPACE10 co-founder Simon Casperson explains:
‘For decades now, designers have been taught to put individual needs at the centre of their work, but design that is good only for a group of individuals, without considering the well-being of our planet and society as a whole, has gotten us into trouble. We are in the middle of an accelerating climate crisis, while longstanding injustices are still unsolved.
Through the lens of design, we believe it’s possible to address complex challenges, and by bringing people together, explore new and better ways forward.’
Who will be there?
Our very own Joanna & Ricardo from What Design Can Do Mexico will be there to host an event called ‘Ministries for the Future’. They’ve curated a series of urgent dialogues that questions what we can expect, demand & ask of Mexican ministries of culture regarding the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Elsewhere, SPACE10’s programme includes both local and international thought-leaders, technologists, universities, and creatives including Fernando Laposse, Edwina Portocarrero, Gabriel Calvillo, Mar Namihira, Iberoamericana University, and Oficina de Resiliencia Urbana. The stellar line-up is the result of a collaboration with Mexico City-based curator Mario Ballesteros.
The takeover will be concluded by a final showcase from the five selected residents of ‘Tomorrow’s Materials’. These artists will present their research into how their chosen biomaterials can benefit the local environment.
All activities will take place at LOOT’s exhibition space, which has been transformed by SPACE10 and multidisciplinary creative studio Niños Heroes. An installation by Tezontle has also been specially commissioned for the space.
Our top picks
Panels
Daily panels and keynotes will be held at LOOT with a new line-up of speakers each day. A sampling of talks include:
- On 28 March, the panels kick off with Thinking Beyond Human-Centred Design, an all-encompassing conversation that sets the tone for the weeks to come. SPACE10 explores the role of the designer and how collaboration can address today’s complex challenges. Joining the opening night will be Edwina Portocarrero, Gabo Calvillo, Mariana Balderas, and Jorge Camacho.
- What Design Can Do curates Tomorrow’s Cultural Policies, a lively town hall-style meeting where prominent members of the creative community and decision-makers from the Mexican government will engage in dialogue over a few beers.
- José de la O and SPACE10’s Georgina McDonald will discuss how advanced technologies can enable sustainability and regeneration in the panel, Tomorrow’s Technologies: Everyday Experiments.
- Shining light on how to design and build better cities, Tomorrow’s Neighbourhoods brings together architects, city planners, and curators including ORU Mexico and Mario Ballesteros.
Exhibitions
- Carlos Matos and Lucas Cantú, founders of Tezontle, will create a series of Totems that will unfold throughout the space.
- 31 March-2 April: Matteo Loglio and Simone Rebaudengo, co-founders of oio studio, join SPACE10’s Everyday Experiments, an ongoing experimental platform in partnership with IKEA surrounding how tomorrow’s technologies can enable a better everyday life. Their experiment is brought to life at LOOT to show how technology can create a new sense of intelligence in everyday objects.
- 8-9 April: Tomorrow’s Materials: Following a six-week residency investigating local biomaterials in Mexico together with SPACE10 and material translator Seetal Solanki from Ma-tt-er, the residents will unfold their work in an exhibition that imagines the materials of tomorrow.
Workshops & Hackathons
Three workshops will allow people to enjoy a more hands-on approach with dedicated programmes alongside members of the SPACE10 team.
- Life at Home 2030 Hackathon aims to develop multiple perspectives on how tomorrow’s technologies can reconcile the needs of the many people with the needs of our planet. We want to explore what is important to the people of Mexico City regarding future technologies, potential applications of these technologies in the home, and possible adoption behaviours on individual and community levels. Applications are now open.
- Everython Latinoamérica is a half-day workshop inviting an interdisciplinary group of participants coming from fields such as design, art, journalism, tech and social innovation. The workshop will practise future thinking and use the power of collective imagination to envision everyday life in the 2050s and our relationship with technology.
- Tomorrow’s Materials: Join artist Edith Medina for an introduction to biomaterials, ecology and local waste.
Make sure to check out the full programme at www.space10.com, to see what else is on offer & how people worldwide can follow this festival.