London Design Biennale today announces the appointment of Het Nieuwe Instituut, the Dutch national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture, as Artistic Director of the fourth edition of London Design Biennale, taking place from 1-25 June 2023 at Somerset House.

Led by its General and Artistic Director, Aric Chen, Het Nieuwe Instituut aims to explore the biennale’s format of national and territorial pavilions by ‘Remapping Collaborations,’ a theme which will be further developed on the journey to June 2023. Participants from across the globe will be invited to imagine and enact new forms of international cooperation and participation—including with each other—through the medium of design.

At a time of growing global complexity, countries, territories and cities are invited to interpret and examine the topic in their own way. However, Het Nieuwe Instituut will be launching a process that participants can also use to help define, form and create these collaborations. This process will be revealed during the London Design Biennale Summit on 25 May 2022 in London at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Aric Chen, General and Artistic Director of Het Nieuwe Instituut, said: “The era of globalisation as we’ve known it is transforming into a new condition that we can’t yet define. 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.”

Victoria Broackes, Director of London Design Biennale, said: “As a stage for international collaboration and exchange, we are thrilled to work with Aric and the team at Het Nieuwe Instituut for the next edition of London Design Biennale. 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.”

Sir John Sorrell CBE, President of London Design Biennale, said: “London Design Biennale was established in 2016 to promote international collaboration and the global role of design. We look forward to bringing together the world’s most ambitious and imaginative designers, curators and design institutions to show ambitious design thinking that inspires and helps solve problems concerning us all.”