PICTOPIA

In spring 2009, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt will host the PICTOPIA festival, the world’s first ever large-scale presentation and celebration of the phenomenon.
In March and April, this multidisciplinary event location will be transformed into a character biotope and a meeting point for an international scene of designers, artists, producers and an interested public. At the heart of the festival is an exhibition which explores the huge diversity of the character universe, where artists remix and sample, condense the surreal and uncanny, inflate all proportions and stage bizarre rituals to introduce their characters into contemporary culture.

Conference speakers: Boris Hoppek (ES/GER), Faiyaz Jafri (NL/USA), James Jarvis (UK), Charles Glaubitz (MX), Klaus Haapaniemi (FIN/UK), W+KTokyoLab (JP), Protey Temen (RUS), AJ Fosik (USA), Gaston Caba (ARG) and more…

Symposium speakers: Christoph Bartneck (NL), Cindy Lisica (UK), Geoffrey Long (USA), Ken Belson (USA), Klaus-Peter Köpping (DE), Ragnhild Tronstad (NOR) and Verena Kuni (DE) and more…

Original artwork by: Gary Baseman (USA), Olaf Breuning (CH), Tim Biskup (USA), Doma (ARG), James Marshall (USA), Friends With You (USA), Waynehorse (NL), Akinori Oishi (JP), Doudouboy (FR), Boris Hoppek (DE) and more…

The Berlin-based Pictoplasma project has been following developments in contemporary character design for nearly a decade, promoting visibility of this new figurative phenomenon, initiating creative networks and establishing a lively exchange of ideas. Its numerous publications and events have made Pictoplasma a character-design platform with international acclaim.