Gwangju Design Biennale to open this week

Preparations for the Gwangju Design Biennale 2015 were fully under way as of Monday with the opening only a few days ahead.
  

This year's design expo will be held from Oct. 15 through Nov. 13 showcasing some 3,000 items from 100 different countries around the world.
  

It will take place at Biennale exhibition halls and the national Asia Culture Center in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, under the theme "Shinmyeong (Conviviality) with Design."
  

The theme carries a message that a good design can bring vitality and joy to our everyday lives and contribute to the renewal of life itself, according to the event's organizing committee.
  

"The exhibition will provide an opportunity to realize that familiar and pleasant designs can provide new energy in life to the public and new competitiveness to companies," said Choi Kyung-ran, the director general of the biennale.
  

"As being joyful and happy is in fact being creative, understanding the theme, 'Shinmyeong (Conviviality) with design' will lead you to an amazing experience of realizing the power of design in creative society," she said.
  

The expo will consist of four major programs themed "the merging of Eastern and Western values," "pleasant design sharing," "sustainable future" and "Cultural values of Korea, China and Japan."
  

There also will be two special exhibitions; "New Italian Design 2.0" for introducing the trend of contemporary world design and one for displaying "pleasant and creative designs" with The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
  

A number of famed designers at home and abroad will flock to Gwangju to take part in the biennale as curators or designers. They include Paola Antonelli, senior designer at MoMA; Italian designer and architect Stefano Giovannoni; French architect Odile Decq; and Italian designer Alberto Meda.
  

Toyo Ito, a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture, will install his work under the "Shinmyeong (Conviviality) with design" theme at Biennale Square.
  

This year's event will focus on commercializing Gwangju's indigenous design brands.
  

Nine lighting and living items produced by minor companies in the city in collaboration with leading designers in the fields will go on display along with various handicrafts of earthenware, metalware, fabric and lighting. (Yonhap)