Beijing Design Week: Aric Chen

Aric Chen is a busy man: Creative Director of the forthcoming Beijing Design Week, he's now pulling together the final strands of what will be a city-wide celebration of design - in all its guises – all kicking off next week. A varied and international career as independent writer and curator brought the New Yorker to China some three years ago, where he founded the annual 100% Design Shanghai. With just under a week to go until the hotly anticipated official launch of Beijing Design Week, Aric took time out from his busy schedule to chat with CreativeHunt about what to expect from the festivities, an evolution in Chinese design, and his personal picks for the international event.

What is Beijing Design Week? And how is this one different from the last edition two years ago? What facets of design will it embrace?
Beijing Design Week is a government initiative for supporting the growing design infrastructure in Beijing. But a big part of that, from my point of view, is about creating a platform--or, really, a mechanism--for carving out a space where the design community can do what it does best. So in addition to the Beijing Design Forum, The First Beijing International Design Triennial and other high-level, official activities, we have over 60 exhibitions, installations and other events, alongside dozens of talks, throughout the city--concentrated in 751, Dashilar as well as Sanlitun, Ditan Park and other sites. We're casting a wide net, from urbanism and architecture to product, furniture, communication, interactive and fashion design.

The first Beijing Design Week was in 2009, and was linked to the ICOGRADA graphic design conference that was held in Beijing that year. This time around, Beijing Design Week is standing on its own legs.

One of the goals of the event you've previously cited is to shift "Made in China" to "Designed in China" - how has design in China changed these past ten years or so to the extent that there's now a Beijing Triennial and independent Design Week? And which Chinese designers and studios are you most excited about showcasing?
I've only lived in China for three years, and in that short time, I've seen "design" evolve from being this rather curious buzzword to being something much more active and pronounced. And I think the very existence of, and enthusiasm around, Beijing Design Week is a good example of this. I'm excited about projects being shown by a number of Chinese studios. Li Hu of OPEN Architecture is presenting his ambitious proposal to transform the 2nd Ring Road into a park. Li Naihan is showing her built-for-transport furniture designs in Dashilar. Other Chinese furniture designers including Song Tao, Liu Feng, Wen Tao and Jia Li will be revealing the processes behind their work in 751. More than 20 Chinese designers will be creating site-specific lighting installations throughout historic Ditan Park.

Could you talk a little about the Triennial and Ren – what will the exhibition comprise and how has such a broad concept as 'Good Design' been approached by the curatorial team?
Though we're joint events, the content of the Triennial was organized independently of Beijing Design Week, by Tsinghua University. But I think there's a growing awareness in China, as everywhere, that design can play a crucial role in improving lives and tackling many of those issues that concern us all. The Triennial is divided into 5 sub-sections that seem to me to address this notion in wide-ranging ways, reflecting the incredible breadth of possibilities offered by design. 

I know you're partnering with London this year – what sort of collaborations or cultural exchange will that involve? Are there any surprising differences or similarities in what makes good/ necessary design for the two cities?
The centerpiece of the London Guest City program will be a monumental, 50-ton installation consisting of 30 sheets of rolled steel, by the designer Paul Cocksedge, at the China Millennium Monument. Paul's a fantastically rigorous designer, and one of London's great up-and-comers, and I'm really excited about it. Besides that, we've got delegations, curators, designers including Tom Dixon, Neville Brody, Ab Rogers and others coming to do projects. What I think both cities share, in terms of their creative scenes at least, is a sense of optimism and an endemic inclination to look towards the future. London designers are incredibly forward-thinking, and that fits well with Beijing.

This is the first BJDW of this kind – and first Triennial. What have been the challenges of pulling it all together? How do you approach such a vast area and task – any comparisons with other exhibitions you've been involved with? And now, ten days before the launch, how's it all going?
Well, let's just say that it's never easy starting up something new. But that's sort of the point, isn't it--starting something new?

What are your hopes for BJDW as it develops? How do you see it fitting in alongside other design festivals both international, and in China – Guangzhou, HK, Shenzhen, etc – how is it different?
I hope that BJDW will act as a catalyst for something. What that something is remains to be seen, but that's what's so exciting. The field is wide open. As for how Beijing might compare with other Chinese cities, I think they all have their strengths. But to me, Beijing has a certain critical mass, and cultural bearing, that makes it unique. 

There's activities going on throughout the city during BJDW– which are you personally looking forward to most?
I'm personally looking forward to those activities that focus on ideas, more than just products--or alternatively, the ideas behind the products. And fortunately, I think that includes most of what we've got going on.

CreativeHunt will be blogging regular updates from the week-long event - be sure to check back for daily news and to get in touch with us, drop us a line here. Beijing Design Week kicks off on Monday 26 September and ends on Monday 3 October. Events, seminars and exhibitions are taking place throughout the city, and for full details, check the official website here. For details of the Triennial, click here