Design Miami/Basel is poised to branch out into Asia, following preliminary agreements in Basel this week with officials from the South Korean capital Seoul, which is bidding to become a regional and global design powerhouse.
The first Design Miami/Basel event in Seoul could take place as early as March 2012 if work progresses on schedule at the city’s new design museum and convention centre, designed by Zaha Hadid. Ground was broken on the site at Dongdaemun in central Seoul last month.
The chairman of the government-run Seoul Design Foundation, Young Gull Kwon, arrived in Basel this week with a formal letter from Seoul mayor Oh Se-Hoon, inviting Design Miami founder Craig Robins to Korea in March next year, when Seoul assumes the mantle of World Design Capital. The two parties were joined by Young Hee Kim of NY Projects, a New York-based art advisor and design project leader with a track record in her native Korea as well as China.
Robins said he was excited and flattered by the approach, and looked forward to working with the Seoul Design Foundation. “We think that doing something in Asia is very important, and have done for some time. The backing and support of the mayor provides such an enormous opportunity for us,” he said.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as 'Seoul to take on Design Miami/Basel'