Events
Set the Agenda - Winter 2023
Vicky Stoakes
Communications Director
When the fairy lights are twinkling and hot chocolate and hot water bottles are obligatory (for some of us). Hello winter!
If hibernation is not your thing, here’s our pick of events and exhibitions to spark your creativity and get you through the next three months. Will it be skateboards in London or sparkling lights all over Amsterdam?
An Atlas of Es Devlin – Cooper Hewitt, New York (until August 2024)
Over in New York, An Atlas of Es Devlin, is the first museum exhibition dedicated to the British artist and stage designer Es Devlin, renowned for work that transforms audiences. Featuring sketches, her notes, and small cardboard models that show the seeds of ideas, to large scale realisation. The exhibition showcases kinetic stage designs to installations; her sculptures for Olympic Ceremonies, NFL Super Bowl halftime shows, and stadium tours for Beyoncé, The Weeknd, and U2.
Over the past decade, she has adapted her craft to address issues such as climate change. Her public installations on endangered species have inspired audiences to reimagine their connections to each other and to the planet. She shapes stories in ways that stay with us and reframe our thinking. Devlin calls the result of this exhibition, an atlas – a collection of maps, hence the name. As her first full scale exhibition showcasing the scope and impact of her work this is definitely on our radar.
Skateboard – Design Museum (until June 2024)
There’s something about designers and skateboards, so it’s no wonder that the Design Museum has brought us the UK’s first major exhibition to map the design evolution of the skateboard from the 1950s to today – a story of design, performance and communities progressing together.
Developed in partnership with Converse and curated and designed by author, designer and skater Jonathan Olivares, the exhibition explores the evolution of skateboard design in detail. Around 90 rare and unique boards are on display, alongside over 100 other objects, including hardware such as wheels and tucks, safety equipment, VHS tapes, DVDs, magazines and ephemera. Together they show skateboard’s technical developments and its evolving social acceptance. Fancy seeing Tony Hawk’s first ever professional model board? It’s here.
Amsterdam Light Festival (until 21st January 2024)
Every winter the Amsterdam Light Festival transforms the city centre into an open-air light museum with over 30 light artworks. Tailor-made art pieces and installations by contemporary (international) artists, designers, and architects light up the city, with this year’s theme all about AI and digital technology. The idea is that light art enriches the environment, illuminates, tells stories and connects people – both residents and visitors. A visual feast for sure.
Accidentally Wes Anderson: The Exhibition – London (1st to 17th December 2023)
Film director, Wes Anderson has always been distinguished for his visual artistry, detail-rich sets, and storybook-like imagery. His sumptuous vision has impacted the design world on many levels and his aesthetic from movies like The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), and The Grand Hotel Budapest (2024) have been much admired and imitated. A new exhibition that comes from the famed Instagram account ‘Accidentally Wes Anderson’ showcases all things inspired by the Wes aesthetic. In the dark winter months if you need a shot of bubble-gum pink, shot through with golden hues, and groovy typography, then this is for you.
