Thomas Heatherwick's Vision of Seoul... Call for Artists to Participate in the 'Seoul Urban Architecture Biennale'

5th Biennale Theme 'Attractive City, Architecture for People'
Call for Participating Artists Until February 2, Final Selection of 10
Presenting 'Large Patchwork' Through Dialogue with Creators and Community

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 24th that it is recruiting participating artists for the '5th Seoul Urban Architecture Biennale,' which will be held for two months from September to October next year.

Poster for the 5th Seoul Urban Architecture Biennale Call for Participating Artists. Provided by Seoul City

To mark the 5th event next year, Seoul has appointed Thomas Heatherwick as the general director to expand the base of architectural culture through communication encompassing not only urban architecture but also various cultural fields. Since its inception in 2017, the Seoul Urban Architecture Biennale has served as a platform to explore innovative solutions to challenges faced by major global cities.

The theme of the 5th Seoul Biennale is "Radically More Human," reflecting a vision of a human-centered and climate-friendly future city, aiming to explore ways to make cities and buildings more enjoyable and attractive.

The key visual proposed by General Director Thomas Heatherwick combines 'Seoul' and 'eye' through hand-drawn illustrations and lettering. The blinking eye symbolizes an invitation to people to "open their eyes and engage in a conversation about how to make cities and buildings more enjoyable and attractive."

The Seoul Biennale, held over two months from September to October next year, invites citizens to a "grand public dialogue" spanning the entire city. Thomas Heatherwick will realize the theme through large-scale public installations (pavilions) and various events and activity programs.

The installations will be presented in the form of a large tapestry, which is a compilation of results created based on dialogues between creators from various fields and communities located in Seoul.

Seoul is recruiting participating artists to complete the large tapestry from the 23rd of this month until February 2nd next year. The 10 artists finally selected will exhibit works developed through theme interpretation, communication with citizens, and artwork development at the 5th Seoul Biennale. Applications are encouraged from diverse creators residing in Korea regardless of nationality, gender, age, or career.

Eligible applicants include △ creators active in various fields (architects, artists, photographers, video artists, fashion designers, etc.) △ creators with experience collaborating with Seoul-based communities to produce works △ creators working with diverse media (textiles, digital art, mixed media, installation art, etc.) △ creators who have been actively working in their respective fields over the past 10 years. Detailed information on the recruitment schedule and application methods can be found on the Seoul Biennale homepage and Instagram.

Thomas Heatherwick said, "Cities are humanity’s greatest monuments and our traces visible from space. Today’s cities and buildings require a new approach?one that centers on human emotions. Seoul possesses amazing creativity and is evolving with a forward-looking vision. Through the 5th Seoul Biennale, we aim to find and share the essentials needed to make Seoul a more human-centered space."

Han Byung-yong, Director of the Housing Office of Seoul City, said, "Heatherwick, who always has a special interest in researching how buildings can contribute to society, makes us look forward to what the 5th Seoul Biennale will look like. We will strive to make it a festival enjoyed and experienced by more citizens through collaboration with creators from various fields."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.