Beyond Borders: Can design heal the rift between global and local?

Thursday June 12th 16:30-17:30 Amid tensions between globalisation and nationalism, there's an urgent need to foster common solutions to collective problems – so we bring together designers who are exploring new forms of belonging and collaboration through design. Stella Mutegi and Kabage Karanja of Nairobi-based architecture practice Cave Bureau, tell us how they disrupted national boundaries at the exhibition they co-curated for this year’s British pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Jean-Michel Geridan, director of Le Signe, the National Centre for Graphic Design in France, explores the role of visual communication in creating shared meaning and identity. And Amrita Mahindroo, co-founder of London-based Da Costa Mahindroo Architects, which works on projects around the world that are contributing to the construction of national identity, explains how she sees design as an instrument of soft diplomacy. The talk will be chaired by Samta Nadeem, curatorial director of the global media house and curatorial agency STIR, our digital media partner. REFLECTION: Ahead of the panel discussion artist and anthropologist Liz Hingley wil shed light on The SIM Project – currently on display by King’s College at 171 The Strand. It draws on the smartphone SIM card as an international symbol of connection and an intimate tool of relation that unlocks local and global networks to rethink perspectives on mobility. Hingley, will present the bespoke 3D printed camera and miniature darkroom that enables participants to print a chosen image held on their phone that gives them 'a sense of belonging,’ onto a SIM-scale glass model, which is then framed with a registered pendant design. The collection of over a thousand glass artworks has been made in intimate workshops held in eight countries – from Finland to Cyprus to the USA. Location: The Great Hall, King's College, London This edition of the Global Design Forum is supported by our Digital Media Partner, STIR. Should you have any access requirements, please contact us at rsvp@globaldesignforum.com to accommodate your visit.