II Biennial of Design of Havana: Beyond the form

The Second Havana Design Biennial will be held from May 20 to June 16 and will be dedicated to the 500 years of Cuban capital. It is a call that allows the public to approach the discipline of design and its environment.

The organizers of the event, including the National Office of Design (ONDI), the Ministry of Industries, the Higher Institute of Industrial Design, the Ministry of Culture, the Cuban Fund of Cultural Assets, the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana and the Caguayo Foundation seek to promote the usefulness of design in Cuban society, in the effort to generate sensitivity especially in sectors such as industry, economy and culture.

In May 2016, the 1st Havana Design Biennial with the maximum Design and Prosperity took place, which was very popular with the public. The II Biennial of Design will be hosted by the Hispano-American Cultural Center and as a special feature it will be extended to Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The concept of this edition is Beyond the form, with which they allude to the content; support of each proposal. The Biennial invites us to think about design as a creative process.

As for the international guests, Andrés Valencia, President of the Innovation and Design Promotion Council in Mexico; Santiago Keller, Executive Director of Meeting of Design Companies; Juan Mellen, Founder and President of LatinSpots and the El Ojo International Festival of Ibero-America and Francisco Meda, Industrial Designer of the European Institute of Design. The keynote address will be given by Gisela Herrero García, head of ONDI.

The Cuba Vibra show by Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba is scheduled for the inaugural gala at the Gran Teatro de La Habana. Of the program stand out the exhibition in Factoría Habana that counts on the curatorship of Concha Fontenla, the Contest of Posters for the XV anniversary of the Hispano-American Center of Culture and Design + Photography 500 years of Havana; initiative of the ONDI and the School of Creative Photography of Havana. As well as the exhibition of posters 500 years of Havana and the Photography Contest How do I want to age?

Within the framework of the Design Biennial, the 10th International Congress of Design of Havana will take place, which will address The Future Designed and will be dedicated to the Bauhaus, as well as the 2019 National Design Prize and 2019 Design Management Award; this last one is for entities that apply design as an effective tool in their business management.