SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Detour 2012 Vernissage
Thursday, November 29, 4pm at the vacant lot of the former Wan Chai Police Married Quarters, Jaffe Road, Hong Kong
Exhibition Dates: November 29 - December 16, 2012
DETOUR 2012: Design Renegade
Co-curated by John Bela and Justine Topfer
Detour 2012: Design Renegade directs the attention of the public to explore our "right to the city." An outstanding group of artists and designers from Hong Kong and around the globe have been rallied to imagine how Hong Kong's public space would look and feel if it were designed for our health and wellbeing, to support the sharing of resources and generosity, versus competition and profit. The exhibition's curators have challenged artists, designers and the public to seek niches and loopholes in the social and spatial fabric of the city and to exploit these loopholes for public benefit, benevolence and delight. The exhibition's participants become agents of urban change: design renegades.
Site-specific installations are on display at the central exhibition space at the former Wan Chai Police Married Quarters. From this base, artists deploy works throughout the public realm, instigating guerrilla art and tactical design. From subversive and emotive maps and street signs, DIY cargo bikes, snake dances through the street, to contemporary interpretations of the classic Pai Dong, Design Renegade provokes new ways of behaving and engaging in public.
Design Renegade is about using small scale and temporary moves to test new ideas, informing Hong Kong's long-term urban planning efforts. Playful and experimental interventions spark new possibilities and guide us toward a more compassionate urban experience. Through the cultural collision of local and international participants, the artists of Design Renegade expand our ways of reading and understanding the city. This powerful collective vision is likely to engage and challenge exhibition visitors as never before.
About the Curators
John Bela, Rebar, Co-Curator
www.rebargroup.com
John is a landscape architect, artist, curator and teacher with over a decade of experience creating public space, public art and community participation projects. A passionate urbanist, John focuses on catalyzing social and spatial innovation to create socially just and ecologically resilient environments. John combines insight, humor, wit and rigor to create eye-opening events, spaces and experiences. As a Rebar founder and principal, he has spearheaded the evolution of the practice from tactical interventions to innovation in strategic planning processes to shaping city policy. John lectures and teaches worldwide, is a senior lecturer at the California College of Arts in San Francisco and a Distinguished Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. John studied Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley, Biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts and sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Justine Topfer, Out of the Box Projects, Co-Curator
www.outoftheboxprojects.com
Justine Topfer is an Australian-born curator with a particular interest in public art. For five years she has been working collaboratively with a broad spectrum of contemporary artists, art organizations, and institutes of higher education. She has worked closely with government bodies, the corporate sector and a diverse array of external stakeholders to realize innovative exhibitions. Justine is currently a curator with the Public Art Program at the San Francisco Arts Commission. Previously, she was the Public Art Producer for the 2012 ZERO1 Biennial, where she oversaw the largely expanded public art component and associated programming of this year's Biennial. In 2011/12 Justine was selected by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities as one of the curators for The 5x5 Project, which featured twenty-five temporary art projects that activated and enlivened publicly accessible spaces and added an ephemeral layer of creativity and artistic expression to neighborhoods across the District. Justine keeps her ties with her motherland: In 2011 she co-curated the City of Sydneys Laneway Art Project, commissioning internationally renowned artists to enliven Sydney's side streets and public spaces through temporary public art.
Aidan Li, Creative Director
About the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design (HKAoD)
www.ambassadors.org.hk
Established in 2006, Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design (HKAoD) aims to stimulate exchange between the local and international design community and the public, through a series of imaginative and unconventional initiatives channeling creative energies from both street and studio. It is founded as a non-profit and registered charity by a group of individuals from Hong Kong's design community. Working with its sister organization, the Hong Kong Design Centre, HKAoD presents diversified and educational initiatives and strives towards the common goal of promoting design and culture and generating enthusiasm for creative ventures.
Detour 2012 Artists and Satellite Exhibitions
Civic Center
The Cave
Andrew Kudless + Riyad Joucka
Otto Li
Tim Li
Caroline Mak
N55
Start from Zero
Kacey Wong
Raumlabor
Wong Tin Yan
2012 Hong Kong Design Year
Michael Lau
The University of Hong Kong Department of Architecture
PolyU Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation
Alliance of Designers, Japan (AODJ)
HKDX
Central Oasis Gallery
Makers' Fair
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A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=16015
