Het Nieuwe Instituut

Het Nieuwe Instituut, commissioner of the Dutch pavilion for the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, presents Who is We?, the Netherlands' official contribution to La Biennale. 

In this exhibition, on show at Het Nieuwe Instituut from May 2021, curator Saskia van Stein examines the influence of Disney’s films and thinking on today’s built environment and sense of identity.

Conceived as a spa resort, the exhibition Lithium highlights the beneficial and destructive aspects of the eternal human search for energy. Researchers, designers and artists reflect on the role of the chemical element lithium in powering today’s economy. How many times can we recharge our batteries without addressing the causes of depletion, in both human bodies and the planet?

A new look at the work of Nelly and Theo van Doesburg is possible thanks to the restoration of their architecture archive. The exhibition recognises Nelly as a key figure in the consolidation of the reputation of Van Doesburg and De Stijl. The magnificent focus of the exhibition will be on the couple’s most striking joint project: their studio-house in the Parisian suburb of Meudon. Sketches, drawings and scale models rarely (if ever) exhibited before reveal the house’s rich history.