Episode 9: Mariana Pestana

In this episode we are hosting Mariana Pestana, the curator of the 5th Istanbul Design Biennal. Mariana is an architect and independent curator based in London and Lisbon. Her research trajectories include critical social practice and the role of fiction in design; for an age marked by technological progress and an ecological crisis. She is a member of The Decorators, an interdisciplinary practice that makes collaborative public realm interventions and cultural programmes. She formerly worked at the Department of Architecture, Design and Digital at the V&A Museum and lectured at Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, Royal College of Arts, Universidade do Minho and Sandberg Institute. We delve into Mariana Pestana's works, her various collaborations and speculate about the future for design, and how design produces futures. The question of curating design, employing social typologies, and how design contributes to shaping the world are topics we touch upon. Along with her generous articulation of the current edition of the Istanbul Design Biennial, where we are also collaborating with her.