Jan Boelen on BIO50 kick-off event: "The biggest surprise"

"The biggest surprise to me was the engagement of BIO50 participants. Almost all of them came to Ljubljana and they started to interact with each-other even before the event through social media.

I was amazed to observe how critical, serious, profound and professional they were while analysing the themes during the workshops. My favourite moments of the kick-off event were when you could literally feel the creative energy flowing as well as all the moments were new friendships were born out of collaborations."

Jan Boelen, member of BIO50 curatorial team.

About Jan Boelen:

Jan Boelen graduated as Product Designer at the Media and Design Academy (KHLim) in Genk. He is the founder and artistic director of Z33 House for Contemporary Art in Hasselt, Belgium; head of the Master Department Social Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven; and chairman of the committee for Architecture and Design of the Flemish Community.

With the aim to create projects and exhibitions that encourage the visitor to take a different look at everyday objects, Boelen founded Z33 in 2002, creating a unique laboratory and meeting place for experiment and innovation, where one can visit groundbreaking exhibitions featuring contemporary art and design. At Z33, Boelen has created exhibitions with Raf Simons, Studio Makkink & Bey, John Körmeling, Thomas Lommée, Dunne & Raby, Marti Guixé, and Aldo Bakker, among others. Boelen and Z33 also organize projects in public space, and facilitated the 2012 Manifesta 9 in Belgium.