Ai Weiwei will open the program of the Design Museum of London will present with its first major design-focused exhibition here at the Design Museum. One of the world's leading artists of design and architecture and with a reading towards cultural and political impact that embraces all of his work.
Ai Weiwei: Making Sense: April 7 – July 30, 2023
Ai Weiwei is one of the most significant and recognized artists working today. Known around the world for his powerful art and his activism, Ai does not distinguish between disciplines: his practice spans art, architecture, design, cinema, collecting and curating. This major new exhibition, developed in collaboration with Ai Weiwei, will be the first to present his work as a commentary on design and what it reveals about our changing values. Through her engagement with material culture, Ai explores the tension between past and present, hand and machine, precious and worthless, construction and destruction. The exhibition taps into Ai's fascination with historical Chinese artifacts, placing their traditional craftsmanship in dialogue with the more recent history of urban demolition and development in China. The result is a meditation on value, on histories and skills that have been ignored or erased. The exhibition will see some of Ai's most important works displayed alongside collections of previously unseen objects and new commissions created for the exhibition. This is not only Ai's personal commentary on design, but it's also an important opportunity for visitors to see her work through a new lens.
The Offbeat Sari: May 19 – September 17, 2023
The saree in urban India manifests itself as a place for design innovation, an expression of identity, and a handcrafted object that carries layers of cultural meanings. Curated by Priya Khanchandani of Design, the exhibition will unveil its many forms, demonstrating that the sari is a metaphor for the multilayered and complex definitions of India today. It will bring together on loan dozens of the best sarees of our time from designers, wearers and artisans in India. Worn as an everyday garment by some and considered formal or uncomfortable by others, the saree has multiple definitions. Conventionally an unstitched fabric wrapped around the body, which can be draped in a variety of ways, its non-fixed form has allowed it to transform and absorb changing cultural influences. In recent years, the saree has been reinvented. Designers are experimenting with hybrid shapes like dresses and saris, pre-stitched saris, and innovative materials like steel. Young people in cities who used to associate the saree with “dressing up” can now be found wearing sarees and trainers on their way to work. Individuals can be found wearing the saree as an expression of resistance to social norms and activists embody it as an object of protest.
Skateboard: 20 October 2023 - 25 February 2024
This exhibit will map the evolution of skateboard design from the 50s to today. It will showcase innovative skateboards and components, along with skate photography and video, complete with original soundtracks. It will chart how skateboarders have conquered sidewalks, pools and skate parks by designing new decks to fit their performance, style and environment. Curated and designed by industrial designer and skater Jonathan Olivares, this will be the first exhibition to explore the evolution of skateboard design in such detail. It will trace how skateboarding has adapted to different urban environments, with each decade bringing forth new techniques. It will also present the city through a different pair of eyes, with urban spaces and street furniture such as benches, handrails and fire hydrants, each with their own unique obstacles and challenges. The gallery will reflect this culture, with areas where visitors can relax and watch clips of skaters using the streetscape for style and “NBD” (Never Been Done) tricks.
Ralph Saltzman Award: February 2 – April 3, 2023
Returning to the Design Museum for its second year, the Ralph Saltzman Award celebrates emerging product designers, in recognition of Ralph Saltzman's design legacy. Created by Lisa Saltzman on behalf of the Saltzman Family Foundation, the Ralph Saltzman Award reflects the Design Museum's overall commitment to nurturing new talent and fostering the development of a vibrant design industry. Each year, a panel of design luminaries selects some of the brightest designers emerging artists who are currently making waves in the field of product design. The winner, selected for his innovative approach to contemporary themes, receives a £5.000 honorarium and exhibits his work in the atrium space of the Design Museum from February to early April. Furniture designer Mac Collins has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural award in 2022. The Ralph Saltzman Award is supported by the Saltzman Family Foundation.
Design Age Institute: March 1 – 31, 2023
This summer, in collaboration with the Royal College of Art's Helen Hamlyn Center for Design, the Future of Aging exhibition explored how design is transforming the way society can help everyone age with greater freedom and joy. He will soon be traveling to V&A Dundee. In 2023, a second interactive display curated with the Design Age Institute will invite the public to explore the different ways innovation and design are helping to reinvent the way we live, work and socialize in a world where an increasing number of we will live to 100 or more. The Design Age Institute is supported by Research England.
Design Ventura: April 28 – June 26, 2023
Design Ventura is an annual design and enterprise competition for schools, managed by the Design Museum in collaboration with Deutsche Bank's global youth engagement program “Born to Be”. Now in its thirteenth edition, the competition sees schools compete to have their product idea created and sold in the Design Museum Shop. Since 2010, over 110.000 students have participated in the project. The 2022-23 competition brief was set by Selasi Setufe MBE, Senior Architect and Innovation Sites Manager, Be First, and co-founder of Black Females in Architecture. The winners will be announced during an awards ceremony at the Design Museum, followed by the bi-monthly viewing of the selected and winning works. Design Ventura is provided in partnership with Deutsche Bank.
