Talks
Jan Boelen
Curating and Designing the Final Escape!
Jan Boelen will present two recent projects; beginning with Atelier LUMA, a design and research lab located in Arles, France. Through investigating the know-how in the bioregion, Atelier LUMA targets local solutions for ecological, economic, and social transition. Then, he’ll focus on The LSA (Lithuanian Space Agency) founded by Julijonas Urbonas, which is an organization that researches space architecture and gravitational aesthetics. It focuses on exploring what the roles of architecture, design, and art can be in the new space age.
Jan Boelen (1967, Belgium) is a curator of design, architecture, and contemporary art. He is rector at the Karlsruhe University of Art and Design (HfG) and artistic director of Atelier LUMA, an experimental laboratory for design in Arles, France. Boelen studied Product Design at the Media & Design Academy in Genk and is the founder and former artistic director of Z33 – House for contemporary art in Hasselt, Belgium. He was curator of the 4th Istanbul Design Biennial in Istanbul (2018) and initiated Manifesta 9 in Belgium (2012). Lastly, Boelen curated the Lithuanian Pavilion Planet of People in the Venice Architecture Biennial (2021). Over the years, he has fashioned projects and exhibitions that encourage visitors to look at everyday objects in a novel manner.
Boelen recently edited Social Matter, Social Design: For Good or Bad, all Design is Social (Valiz, 2020), and his writing addresses the implications of design in everyday life and how artistic practices shape the discipline.
Caption: credits as (c) Z33/Jan Boelen/Veerle Frissen.