BMW Guggenheim Lab Exhibition Opens at the Guggenheim Museum in October

Participatory City: 100 Urban Trends from The BMW Guggenheim Lab Opens at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, in October

Exhibition examines major themes and ideas from the BMW Guggenheim Lab

Exhibition: Participatory City: 100 Urban Trends from the BMW Guggenheim Lab
Venue: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York
Location: Annex Level 2
Dates October 11, 2013–January 5, 2014
Press Preview: Thursday, October 10, 2013, 10 am–1 pm



NEW YORK, – From 2011 to 2013, the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a mobile think tank for exploring urban life, traveled to New York, Berlin, and Mumbai to inspire innovative ideas for urban design and new ways of thinking about cities. To sum up the major themes and ideas that emerged during this two-year global journey, the Guggenheim Museum will present the exhibition Participatory City: 100 Urban Trends from the BMW Guggenheim Lab, on view from October 11, 2013, to January 5, 2014.

“The Guggenheim is proud of the extraordinary achievements of the BMW Guggenheim Lab and the multitude of ideas and conversations it has inspired,” stated Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. “Thanks to the BMW Group’s support and collaboration, the Lab has allowed us to go far beyond our walls and into the heart of cities, stimulating a broad and ongoing dialogue about urban life. It has attracted tens of thousands of enthusiastic participants, on-site and online, and has been recognized by the United Nations as an exemplary project. With this special exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York, we celebrate the learnings of the Lab along with new insights from contributors around the world.”

Participatory City features 100 of the key trends published in the New York, Berlin, and Mumbai editions of 100 Urban Trends: A Glossary of Ideas from the BMW Guggenheim Lab, each illustrated by contributions from a global roster of architects, academics, designers, and artists, as well as Lab programs and projects. The exhibition will represent the trends in an exclusively digital installation through drawings, sketches, short videos, and renderings.

“The exhibition presents innovative visions for cities and the use of public space based on the ideas that emerged in New York, Berlin, and Mumbai,” said Maria Nicanor, Curator of the BMW Guggenheim Lab and Associate Curator, Architecture. “We are excited to highlight new perspectives from emerging and established talents who are rethinking and reshaping urban environments around the world. As the Lab returns to New York with this presentation, we hope to further engage the public in our global conversation about what cities are, and what they can be.”

Participatory City also will showcase the Lab’s architects, graphic designers, and Lab Team members, and a selection of contributors who helped bring the Lab to life on three continents.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of public programs exploring architecture, urbanism, and the ways in which people interact with cities and public space.

A series of articles that focus and expand on selected urban trends from the New York, Berlin, and Mumbai Labs is currently appearing on Lab | Log, the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s blog.

The BMW Guggenheim Lab’s global program will conclude with the close of the exhibition.

About the BMW Guggenheim Lab
A co-initiative of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the BMW Group, the BMW Guggenheim Lab launched in New York (August 3 – October 16, 2011) with a focus on the theme “Confronting Comfort”; traveled to Berlin (June 15 – July 29, 2012), with the theme “Making,” emphasizing citizen participation in shaping cities; and finally opened at multiple sites in Mumbai (December 9, 2012 – January 20, 2013), where projects and programs explored the theme “Privacy” and related issues of public space. Participants from more than 160 countries and territories around the world participated in the Lab’s more than 500 public programs, workshops, lectures, and research and urban projects, both on-site and online. The BMW Guggenheim Lab is curated by Maria Nicanor of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

The project’s blog, Lab | Log, features interviews with BMW Guggenheim Lab contributors and includes coverage of the Lab’s activities. The public is invited to join the BMW Guggenheim Lab’s dedicated social communities on Twitter (@BMWGuggLab and #BGLab), Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and Foursquare, and to subscribe to the Lab’s e-newsletter for the latest project updates.

About the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The Guggenheim network that began in the 1970s when the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, was joined by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, expanded to include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao which opened in 1997, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, currently in development. Looking to the future, the Guggenheim Foundation continues to forge international collaborations that take contemporary art, architecture, and design beyond the walls of the museum. More information about the foundation can be found at guggenheim.org.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Admission: Adults $22, students/seniors (65+) $18, members and children under 12 free. Available with admission or by download to personal devices, the Guggenheim’s new, free app offers an enhanced visitor experience. The app features content on special exhibitions, access to more than 1,200 works in the Guggenheim’s permanent collection, and information about the museum’s landmark building. Verbal imaging guides for select exhibitions are also included for visitors who are blind or have low vision.

Museum Hours: Sun–Wed, 10 am–5:45 pm; Fri, 10 am–5:45 pm; Sat, 10 am–7:45 pm; closed Thurs. On Saturdays, beginning at 5:45 pm, the museum hosts Pay What You Wish. For general information, call 212 423 3500 or visit the museum online at:

guggenheim.org