Introducing our 2023-2024 theme, ANTHROPOS-TOPOS 

ANTHROPOS-TOPOS

‘Anthropos’ (ἄνθρωπος) signifies ‘human’ and ‘tópos’ (τόπος) embodies the intangible essence of place, home, and homeland. It is a universally contingent theme that dissects how humans and places coexist at the proxy of design. 

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On the act of labor

In the mountains of Sapa, Vietnam, a peripheral road construction site was populated with local workmen. The worker’s transformation of the plastic bag into a protective rain garment accounts for the unrestrained mobility of his arms while his collateral uses of design elements, such as the shovel, perform an extension of the human body’s strength and fortitude.  

Cementing the choreographic movements of the laborers through photography evolved into a journey to unveil how design elements converge with global labor practices. The primary sub-theme of ANTHROPOS-TOPOS will focus on the act of labor, deciphering the multitude of forces that inform how humans coexist with places. Athens Design Forum’s visual analyses of archival and contemporary material tied to labor practices expose repetitions of form and action, becoming vestiges of placeness, migration, resilience, and survival. 

ANTHROPOS-TOPOS will build on programming that includes global film screenings, journal interviews, and the inaugural creation of a public database surrounding design and labor. 

– Katerina Papanikolopoulos, Founder of Athens Design Forum

Image: Sapa, Vietnam. 2019 © Katerina Papanikolopoulos