The information revolution in the latter half of the twentieth century reduced the distance between countries and cultures, and our lifestyles and the way we view our day-to-day existence have undergone a radical change. While our knowledge and methods are updated at immense speed, opportunities to reevaluate social inequity, ethics and value systems are also increasing.
What is essential now is individual thinking, action and communication: this was the basis for this exhibition, The Fab Mind. It focuses on the commitment and actions of those who, without limiting themselves to creating only tangible design products, attempt to understand and to resolve social issues through design.
Featured are the participating artists' explorations through a critical and birds eye view of our world and ways of forging new relationships with our society now and into the future. Under the direction of Noriko Kawakami, a journalist well-versed in the movement of design both in Japan and abroad, and Ikko Yokoyama, a curator of art and design based in Stockholm, Sweden, this exhibition presents the diverse range of works by 24 groups of artists and designers from over ten countries. These projects, which are at times positive and at others poetic, are bound to bring about a new understanding of the future role of design; one that takes it beyond the boundaries of product manufacture.
