„What makes Berlin addictive?“ Exhibition of Berlin Graphic Design, Media Design and StreetArt in Shanghai

14. - 17. September 2006, daily 11-18.00 h
Vanguard Gallery, No. 20 Cha Ling Bei Lu, Shanghai

-> Press Release (PDF, 48 kb)-> Documentation -> Press review


For a couple of years, Berlin has been developing its very own, original appeal and dynamic in terms of design and is establishing itself as an inter-disciplinary trend workshop. The multi-faceted „Berlin Style“ and the unique atmosphere of the city mutually shape and influence one another. The exhibition takes Berlin’s image as an open, demanding pop-cultural metropolis as main idea and asks young graphic and media artists: „What makes Berlin addictive?”

Current positions from Graphic and Media Design are exhibited together with „wanted style“ posters with statements and short descriptions of the designers. On display, amongst others, are works by:
Francois Chalet (www.francoischalet.ch)
Steven & Marilla Alexander (www.rinzen.com)
Jianping He (www.hesign.com)
Pfadfinderei (www.pfadfinderei.com)
Brigitte Speich & Jacques Magiera (www.substratdesign.org www.materia.li)

It is goal to emphasize the variety of the scenes and tendencies in Berlin and to hereby show as broad a spectrum as possible. The „wanted style“ posters give lively and individual, partly very personal statements and insights into Berlin and the Berlin attitude towards life.

It is impossible to imagine the streets and squares of Berlin without StreetArt. StreetArt has become an integral, if controversial part of the urban appearance of the city. For the exhibition project „What makes Berlin addictive?“, the artist Xinyu Bai and the designers Jing Wang and Yi Lu, who live and work in Berlin, will document the current status of StreetArt in Berlin in the summer of 2006. The photographs will be presented within the scope of the exhibition.

Berlin lives on the mixing of the different scenes of Fashion, Design, Art, Music and Club Culture. This becomes apparant in the variety of the Berlin Lifestyle Magazines. For the exhibition “What makes Berlin addictive?”, a broad spectrum of these magazines will be made available to the Shanghai audience in a MagLounge.

The development of Berlin into an inter-disciplinary trend workshop in terms of design is being recognized on a broader international level at the latest since Berlin was awarded the title “City of Design” by the UNESCO in January of this year. In Berlin, a national creative scene gathers, which is being discovered more and more by the international scene. With its no-rule mentality and openness, the city absorbs influences from many regional and global sources, resulting in a
manifold design language.

At present, a unique development is becoming apparent also in Shanghai: The city is one of the most exciting metropolis in the world, China’s „Door to the West“. The open atmosphere, the tempo of the city and the mixture of local and global influences attract more and more creative people from all over the world. Almost all international agency networks already have opened branch offices there, and there are a great number of small Design and Architecture Studios. The growing number of agencies, initiatives and events creates a counterbalance to the strong
institutional and state organizations and moves Shanghai into the spotlight of the
international creative scene.

The goal of the exhibition is not only to concey the spirit of the Berlin Design Scene. The Berlin designers want to partake in the development of Shanghai. They want to get inspired, make contacts and utilize possible synergies. The idea to support and and foster this exchange is fired by the success of first personal contacts and an intensive collaboration between both design scenes.

Therefore, the exhibition is the starting point of a second exhibition project, based on the question: „What makes Shanghai addictive?“. International and local creative minds, living and working in Shanghai, will illustrate the life and work in “their” city and their city feeling in an exhibition in Berlin.

Thus, the project offers the possibility of a review of the situation in Shanghai and China. At the same time, a platform is meant to be created to allow creative people to jointly develop ideas for a stronger networking between the design scenes of both cities. First perspectives and results will also be presented within the scope of the secondpart of the exhibition project.


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