Future design dissolves any border between Galicia and Northern Portugal

Breaking any barrier that could still separate the North of Portugal and Galicia, Porto Design Biennale chose it as the invited territory to, together, look at design as a means to think about more sustainable experiences. With the theme "Being Water" guiding this year's program, the municipalities of Porto and Matosinhos presented the third edition of the event, this Tuesday, in Santiago de Compostela.

Stating how "we don't even know where the border is anymore" between the two regions, Rui Moreira assumed that Galicia's "obvious choice" to integrate the Porto Design Biennale goes beyond "friendship and strategic understanding". "It is a recognition of the merit that Galicia has for the development of its design and the cultural project that the Xunta has been developing", underlines the Mayor of Porto.

The Mayor believes that the collaboration between the regions "will allow greater knowledge" and enhance "very important opportunities from the point of view of development, industry qualification, which you need and so do we, in an increasingly competitive market".

At the headquarters of Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal, in the historic area of Santiago de Compostela, Rui Moreira defended that "if we want our workforce to be well paid, what we can do is increase the value of our products, through their qualification".

And this, he believes, "is done through design, which is an even more sophisticated form of luxury. It's the sophistication of the culture”. In the words of the Mayor of Porto, it is in design that "we can find exactly what our roots and our development are, looking to the future without forgetting the past, and developing a strategy that, I am sure, will mark the coming years".

Opportunity to consolidate the alliance

The "Galicia – Processes and Forms" program will bring about 150 Galician artists to the Porto Design Biennale and will be "the largest exhibition effort we have made so far", as the director of the Galician Innovation Agency assumes.

Patricia Argerey states that the initiative "has an importance for the promotion of our design and its innovative potential" and reinforces how the invitation to Galicia "will be a new opportunity to consolidate the alliance with the North of Portugal", not only from a strategic point of view, "but also from a creative perspective". "And let it be the core for more initiatives together", she said.

The president of Turismo Porto e Norte de Portugal also stressed the importance of the connection between territories and the fact that "we are here, once again, to strengthen this relationship through culture". Announcing the creation of the "first tourism cluster in a Euroregion", Luís Pedro Martins recognizes the municipalities as "absolutely strategic" also in this sector.

On the side of Matosinhos, the Councillor of Culture was confident in the existence of "conditions to have this year the year of affirmation of the Porto Design Biennale". Referring to an "initiative that promotes and affirms design as a major art", Fernando Rocha confessed that the expectations of public adherence are high "given the proximity and habit that Galicians have of going to Porto and Matosinhos".

Collaboration reinforces commitment to the territory

Present at the presentation, the director of Porto Design Biennale underlined how the initiative "is the result of a unique and very special collaboration between two municipalities" as it demonstrates "commitment to the territory and local identities".

“Recognizing that design transcends geographical boundaries”, Marta Seifert states that the geographical and cultural proximity between the North and Galicia “creates a fertile network for the exchange of ideas and experiences” in the sector.

The curator of the Galician exhibition also considers that "Portugal for us is to feel at home and working in partnership should be a strategic priority of all projects, regardless of the area".

Explaining the concept, that thought to bring to Porto Design Biennale, David Barro assumes that water, from the sea or rain, "defined the life of Galicia" and that "the story we want to tell is that of design, crafts, traditions, companies and innovations".

Bordered by the Galician territory, the third edition of the Porto Design Biennale brings exhibitions, installations and conversations to various spaces in Porto and Matosinhos. The design is thought, celebrated, and challenged between October 19 and December 3.