The Design Museum has announced More Than Human, the first museum exhibition themed around non-human species design.
More Than Human is also the first major exhibition that has been jointly curated by the Design Museum and Future Observatory, its national design research programme.
The exhibition is being funded by UKRI’s Arts and Humanities Research Council. It will explore “how humans can relearn to design with and for the natural world in the face of climate emergency,” according to the Design Museum.
It will include over 14 works by more than 50 participants, including four major commissions supported by Future Observatory research fellowships.
The research fellowships were awarded to Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, More Than Human Life Project (MOTH), Paulo Tavares and Feifei Zhou. Julia Lohmann is also creating a large-scale installation for the exhibition.
Works are inspired by elements of nature including seaweed, pollinators, spaces for “multispecies encounters,” the movement to award legal rights to waterways, and artworks for octopuses.
The phrase “More Than Human” is a design movement that focuses attention on the needs of non-human species and their environments. This spans both ancient knowledge and the design of new habitats.
“The huge network of issues raised by the climate crisis can feel overwhelming,” said senior curator Rebecca Lewin. “But the fields of design, art and architecture are finding creative and often beautiful solutions for the needs of the planet.”
Tickets are now on sale for the exhibition, which will open on 11 July, at the Design Museum in Kensington, London.
