Aric Chen Named London Design Biennale Curator

The London Design Biennale has announced Aric Chen as curator of its next edition, which is set to take place from  June 1 to 25, 2023 at Somerset House. Chen, who also serves as General and Artistic Director at Rotterdam’s Het Nieuwe Instituut, will explore the theme of “Remapping Collaborations” through the various country pavilions.

Under his curatorial direction, and at a poignantly relevant time, Chen is inviting participants from all over the globe to imagine new ways of “international cooperation”, and to envision how design can be the facilitator for working together under complex circumstances.

“The era of globalisation as we’ve known it is transforming into a new condition that we can’t yet define,” he said. “What we know for sure, however, is that in confronting our ever-growing planetary challenges, working together is more critical than ever—and we hope this biennale can act as a testing ground for examining new possibilities for doing so.”

With Chen as its curator, the 2023 edition will be overseen by Victoria Broackes, who joined the team as Director of the London Design Biennale in 2019, having previously served as the Senior Curator of Theatre & Performance at the city’s V&A museum.

“The challenges facing the world today cannot be solved by one person, community or country alone, which is why we’re inviting participants to come together in their efforts to address issues facing the world, through design,” said Broackes, who was the curator behind the record-breaking Pink Floyd exhibition, “Their Mortal Remains”.

The 2021 edition of the London Design Biennale saw set designer Es Devlin install a forest of 400 trees in the venue’s historic courtyard, while industrial designer Ini Archibong created the “Pavilion of the African Diaspora” using a structure based on the shapes of conch and cowrie shells.

Elsewhere in design, LEGO has offered an inside look around its new Denmark headquarters.