detour 2020 virtual festival connects visitors on-site and online

detour 2020, the annual design festival in hong kong, explores the theme ‘matter of life’ in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. as such, the festival questions how creatives, design enthusiasts and the general public worldwide can not only create but connect and converse together when travel is restricted. the result is a virtual, hybrid format that combines on-site and online exhibitions, events and dialogues to interlink the physical and digital.

from november 27 to december 6, 2020, local and international visitors can visit on-site at PMQ, hong kong or online here.

the main space for virtual visitors

detour 2020 focuses on the preciousness of interactions during the global pandemic by creating a virtual festival. the physical exhibition at PMQ is central to the online activities, which launches with a new website designed by WEEWUNGWUNG and architecture commons. this online experience creates a place for visitors from all over the world to connect, interact and communicate about the creative field. whether in person or online as an avatar, visitors can walk around the exhibits and talk to others through a global instant chatbox.

instant chatbox for virtual avatars online

the role of individual animated avatars does not stop there, though. design studio whatever inc. creates a large-scale interactive installation, called ‘FLOCK’, that unites the physical and digital. on-site at PMQ, local visitors can create an avatar of themselves in a photo booth. these animations then fly alongside other visitors’ in a giant digital mural set in the courtyard. international visitors can create their own avatars by uploading photos to the website. these join a live-stream ‘flock’ of flying people on the screens in hong kong and on the website.

the flying avatars of visitors merge on the big screens of ‘FLOCK’ at the center of the exhibit

‘when we first heard about the theme ‘matter of life’, it was unavoidable for us to not think about our current life under COVID-19. it has completely changed everyone’s lives. the pandemic has made it difficult for people to connect and meet like we used to, which is ironic, as we are supposedly living in a ‘connected world’. therefore, we wanted to create an artwork that let people celebrate the joy of being together again. that is how we came up with the idea of creating a digital installation where people from around the world can take a photo of themselves and join a gigantic flock of flying people,’ explains whatever inc to designboom.

‘the local visitors can have a rich experience with the physical installation. they can stand at a photo booth, see a life-sized avatar being generated in front of them and join a flock on the huge digital screen alongside other avatars from around the world. these online visitors can join in through their smartphones and computers. instead of a photo booth, they can either take a photo on their phones or upload an image to join the flock, zoom and move the camera angle for extra fun,’ adds the designers.

the avatars of digital visitors add to ‘FLOCK’ at the exhibit

as part of detour 2020, the ‘feature’ exhibition highlights four leading local and international creatives as they focus on designing solutions for issues facing our world today. ‘i’mperfect lives: a taste of decay’ by colab challenges visitors to rethink our fear of disease nowadays. this is through the exploration of ‘good’ bacteria in the process of food and fermentation.

‘i’mperfect lives: a taste of decay’ by colab

‘brief encounters’ by new office works also addresses the way the public can engage with each other amid the pandemic, but does so by exploring possibilities surrounding social distancing measures. it uses colorful transparent films installed as barriers on-site.

‘brief encounters’ by new office works

‘identity face shield’ by NOSIGNER is a face shield with a pixel-style human face printed on it. it addresses the importance of protecting our privacy at a time when facial recognition systems have been developing rapidly.

‘identity face shield’ by NOSIGNER

lastly, ‘how the world sees’ by synoptic office is an immersive, living map that captures the flow of real-time news stories from media outlets around the world. it reveals to visitors the ever-changing global dialogue – the good and bad – in a look towards the future for our planet.

‘how the world sees’ by synoptic office

detour 2020’s ‘selected entries’ exhibition specifically explores themes of life in a pandemic, climate change and sustainability – and the role of design in these topics. as its name suggests, ‘the recycling glass brick spiral’ by arnold wong, keith chan and stephen ip uses the recycled material as the core building component for a spiral-shaped installation that brings people together through a journey of social distances.

‘the recycling glass brick spiral’ by arnold wong, keith chan and stephen ip

‘MEMORI’ by XPLOR aims to preserve our transient yet beautiful encounters with art to soothe our anxiety in a time of worldwide adversity. it transforms voice memos of blessings into visual images that visitors can then decode through AR technology on-site or online.

‘MEMORI’ by XPLOR

as another highlight, ‘dryscape’ by orient occident atelier is an installation of dried, edible local plants, which was inspired by a local tradition where elderly lay plants and fishes on the streets to dry. the design encourages the public to explore resources in their local environment.

‘dryscape’ by orient occident atelier

detour 2020 also hosts a robust, inspiring program of workshops and design dialogues for visitors on-site and online. the workshops guide participants through the application of design thinking and knowledge in our daily lives. materials, communication, fashion and food design are all explored. dialogues with creatives will be streamed on the website, covering a range of relevant topics from the need for design during a pandemic and the cultural imaginations of design. these talks unite creatives from far and wide, such as masashi kawamura from whatever inc, eisuke tachikawa from NOSIGNER, architect charles lai, dennis cheung from studio ryte, and many more inspiring voices.

explore the hybrid of events and exhibitions at detour 2020, on-site at PMQ or online here.

event info:

event: detour

dates: november 27 to december 6, 2020

location: PMQ, 35 aberdeen street, central, hong kong

organizer: PMQ

sponsor: create hong kong of the government of hong kong special administrative region