Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) in Tāmaki Makarau
The AGI, a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1952, focuses on connecting leaders of the global design industry, inspiring new practitioners, and giving back to communities. Membership is by invitation and acknowledges a significant and impactful contribution to shaping global visual culture. From 18-19 September, more than 30 of the world’s leading designers will be in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland to participate in the AGI Open, a two-day festival hosted by the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) at the Aotea Centre.
AGI Open speaker Paula Scher’s immersive, hand-painted map of Philadelphia installed at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University
Dean Poole, Aotearoa New Zealand’s first AGI member and the Auckland event curator, says the AGI Open is a unique opportunity to see some of the world’s most influential designers in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
In terms of scope, he describes it as the largest design festival ever staged in Auckland. The audience is anyone interested in unique global perspectives on design, motion, communications, digital innovation, branding and creative practice.
“If you’re a designer, architect, creative, student or educator this is not to be missed,” he says. “It’s not an annual event, it’s a once in a generation event and the first time the AGI Open has been hosted in the Southern Hemisphere. If you need inspiration, or a high-impact download on global design culture — come to the AGI Open in September.”
A “nostalgic future home with high tech”, designed by LIXIL × Toyo Ito for HOUSE VISION. The Tokyo exhibition, directed by AGI Open speaker Kenya Hara, invited Japan’s leading architects to visualise the possibilities for Japanese industry through the lens of the house
The AGI Open’s two-day programme features 36 speakers, including:
Paula Scher – partner at Pentagram New York, established artist and subject of the Netflix series, ‘Abstract: The Art Of Design’.
Kenya Hara – the respected curator, writer and design director of Japanese brand Muji.
Lars Müller – publisher of more than 800 titles, many exploring the history and development of architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism.
James Brown – Australian designer renowned for “art-chitecture”, including the hand-painted masterpiece, Motel Mexicola, in Bali, and the colourful Africola restaurant in Australia.
Thonik – A Dutch design studio whose work includes identities for the Venice Architecture Biennale, plus varied large-scale museum and urbanism projects.
Brian Collins, head of COLLINS, a global branding agency that works with Spotify, Robinhood, Twitch, Nike, Equinox and more.
Thonik’s identity for the Holland Festival, the leading international performing arts festival in the Netherlands.
“Cities around the world really compete to host events like this,” Poole says. “We’ve pulled out all the stops with a line-up of speakers drawn from Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Argentina, the US and more. From experimental practice to the successful branding of prominent global companies, each speaker has invaluable insights to share. You may not know all their names, but you will know their work because it has shaped the visual landscape we all live in.”
Tickets on sale now. Visit the AGI Open website for the full line up and follow @agi_open via instagram for updates.
Helios House, designed by Office dA (principal architects Monica Ponce de Leon and Nader Tehrani) and Johnston Marklee Architects. The architects were hired by Ogilvy & Mather, led by AGI Open speaker Brian Collins
This article and photographs are shared with permission from Architecture Now.