Empathy – from 14th to 31st March 2013
The eigth edition of the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne places prospective at the centre of its programming, exploring the major issues of society, and revealing through design the innovations which will influence our life tomorrow. The Biennale is founded on the principle of calls for applications, and a confrontation of the points of view of invited curators and exhibitors: it cultivates a non-permanence – and sometimes even a certain impertinence – by offering for each new edition different places to visit, and different curator’s standpoints to discover.
The choice of the theme of empathy results from an intuition, and a collective reflection. Many philosophers and sociologists consider there is an urgent need to re-think a society based on increased respect for the human community.
Empathy proposes an alternative vision and shape of the world, thanks to this capacity to comprehend and to understand the feelings and emotions of others. And empathy possesses an extraordinary investigating force. Is it a skill ? an attitude ? is it a pertinent form of knowledge ? how to reconcile empathy with creation ? Should we forget ourselves to respond to the needs of others ? What then is the role of creation? These interlocking questions can provoke passionate debate at a precise time when practices are being developed to find ways of placing the individual and his uses at the centre of innovation.
WikiCell, 2010, François Azambourg et David Edwards / WikiCell Designs, Edible food packaging*
Collection Axor Bouroullec, 2010, Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec / Hansgrohe, Module de vasque en trois niveaux moulé d’une seule pièce*
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Tags: Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne, elium studio, empathy
