Dutch participation in the XXII Triennale di Milano
6 december 2018
Guus Beumer, Director of Het Nieuwe Instituut, has been appointed as commissioner of the Dutch contribution to the XXII Triennale di Milano from 1 March to 1 September.
I See That I See What You Don’t See
The Netherlands is one of the most illuminated countries in the world. In that sense it serves as an extreme example of a 24-hour economy that emphasizes production and growth. At the same time it reflects a changing relationship with the environment: in a world that is always switched on, the simple experience of a clear, starry sky has become a rarity.
In this context, the Dutch presentation investigates the subtle influence of the age of permanent performance on the way different human and non-human agents experience the world. In I See That I See What You Don’t See designers, makers, artists and researchers from the Netherlands and further afield, present a layered and sometimes unexpected picture of the current, multispecies relationship with darkness, and set in motion imaginative, critical responses to it.
Central to the project is the notion of the designer as researcher when it comes to addressing developments that have now reached a planetary scale. Not only does this question the role of the designer, it also has implications for methodologies and issues of responsibility. These are recurring themes within research initiatives previously launched by Het Nieuwe Instituut, in such fields as automation, materials and datafication.
In addition to the exhibition and programme at Palazzo dell’Arte in Milan, the Dutch presentation at the XXII Triennale di Milano will feature a parallel public programme in Rotterdam. Het Nieuwe Instituut will announce the list of commissioned exhibitors for the Dutch Pavilion in the coming months.
Angela Rui
Angela Rui, phd, is an Italian curator and researcher based between Milan and Rotterdam, working in design theory and criticism. She cocurated the 25th Design Biennial of Ljubljana (2017), and the accompanying book, both titled Faraway, So Close. Her writings have appeared in publications and catalogues published by several institutions. She curated the 2015 edition of Operae, the independent design festival based in Turin, and the exhibition and catalog Ugo la Pietra. Disequilibrating Design (2014) for the Triennale Design Museum. She has been design editor for Abitare Magazine (2011-2013), and curated the editorial project of Icon Design Magazine (Mondadori, 2015-2017).
As a researcher, she has been involved in Neuhaus – the upcoming program promoted by Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. Until 2016 she taught at the School of Design (Politecnico di Milano) and at the Master of Interior Design program at NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan). She currently teaches at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Social Design Master.
Marina Otero Verzier
Marina has co-edited Promiscuous Encounters (2014), Unmanned: Architecture and Security Series (2016), After Belonging: The Objects, Spaces, and Territories of the Ways We Stay In Transit (2016), and edited Work, Body, Leisure (2018).
Francien van Westrenen
Since March 2018 she’s head of Agency at Het Nieuwe Instituut and responsible for mediating between Dutch designers, makers and architects and (inter)national platforms, manifestations and policymaking. Thereby addressing the innovative force and the international role of the various design sectors.
Note for editors

Team I See That I See What You Don't See. Guus Beumer, Angela Rui, Ellen Zoete, Francien van Westrenen en Marina Otero Verzier. Photo: Daria Scagliola, 2018.

Ellen Zoete, Angela Rui, Francien van Westrenen en Marina Otero Verzier en Guus Beumer. Photo: Daria Scagliola