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How can materials of tomorrow reimagine exhibitions of today?

With a strong focus on sustainability, the 23rd Biennale of Sydney hopes to transform exhibition making, encouraging the use of non-polluting materials and production processes, advocating for locality, collectivity, collaboration and reduced waste; acknowledging its own impact on the environment while aiming to lower it through a systemic and creative approach.

To realise Artistic Director José Roca’s vision, this Challenge with Cicada Innovation, in partnership with the UK Australia Season, a collaboration between the British Council and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the UK Government’s Science and Innovation Network, asks innovators to share materials, products, and resources to be implemented as part of the exhibition design and creative production for the 23rd Biennale of Sydney (2022). We are imagining walls made of kelp, paint that absorbs and offsets carbon, graphics printed on mycelium fabrics, recycled materials forming 3D printed furniture and building structures. Anything that exists at the interaction of the scientific and creative worlds and has a positive impact on the environment.

The Challenge is open to any Australian and UK startups, innovators, and manufacturers who are reinventing the production of resources, materials, and products, in a bid to uncover sustainable materials that can be used in exhibition site builds and presentation of artworks.

Sustainable alternatives to replace existing materials used to design and build exhibitions

We are looking for more sustainable alternatives to:

Papers & cardboard
Plastics, tapes & packaging
Inks, paint & finishes
Timber & framing products
Sheet materials (gyprock, plywood, MDF)
Building materials & ballast (bricks)
Fibres & textiles
Printing materials
Fixings & adhesives (cable ties, screws, glue)

Revolutionary new products that could be showcased in unconventional ways as part of the exhibition.

We are looking to showcase scientific products and discoveries in unconventional ways at the exhibition. We’re looking for solutions that are:

Harnessing biotechnology
Recycling waste into new products
Using 3D printing & additive manufacturing methods
Machines monitoring planetary health
New forms of sustainable power

For more INFO on how to apply click HERE.

Deadline for submissions: 29th August 2021

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