MINNEAPOLIS, January 29, 2025—On October 17, 2026, the Walker Art Center will open Walker Design Triennial: Beyond Materialism, the first iteration of its new design triennial created to explore the narratives, philosophies, and innovations that have and continue to define the realm of design. Curated by architect, curator, and editor Joseph Grima, in close collaboration with Asli Altay, the Walker’s Head of Design, Communication & Content, Walker Design Triennial: Beyond Materialism explores the fundamental shift taking place within design toward considerations of the mind, psyche, and spirit. While prior generations of designers have emphasized the functional needs of the body and daily activity, today’s practitioners seek to also embrace more existential human needs and questions as we confront broader social challenges and opportunities. Walker Design Triennial: Beyond Materialism features some of the historical contexts for this dynamic shift and highlights the work of some of today’s most captivating designers and collectives from across the globe. The triennial will remain on view though February 14, 2027.
“Since its emergence as a distinct field in the Industrial Revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries, design has been propelled by a sense of higher purpose. Today, we are witnessing an incredible depth of creativity and imagination as contemporary designers freshly push beyond mass production, function, and traditional notions of access to grapple with significant questions about environmental degradation, community-building, social and political justice, the rapidity of technological advancement, and the meaning and experience of spirituality and transcendence. Walker Design Triennial: Beyond Materialism explores these questions through the work of more than two dozen global designers, who are advancing the changing nature and growing significance of design,” said Grima.
The triennial opens by tracing important historical precursors for contemporary design’s engagement with spirituality, cultural and social ritual, and the creation of new futures. This section includes the philosophies and works of the Shakers as well as design icons Buckminster Fuller and Alessandro Mendini. The triennial, then, unfurls across three major galleries with works by contemporary practitioners representing more than 10 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Nigeria, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and United States. Of the group, seven are presenting in the U.S. for the first time, including Espace Aygo, Stef Fusani, Shao-Chun Hsu, Jonghoo Jeong, Maximilian Marchesani, Moon Seop Seo, and Christoph Wimmer Ruelland, and five are creating new work, including two major commissions by Navine G. Dossos + James Bridle and Lucas Muñoz Muñoz.
The complete list of the 26 designers and collectives featured in Walker Design Triennial: Beyond Materialism follows below, with those creating new works denoted with a *.
Anna Aagaard Jensen (Denmark)
Ananas Ananas* (US/Mexico)
Astronauts* (Greece)
Germane Barnes (US)
Michael Bennett (US)
Navine G. Dossos + James Bridle* (Greece)
Nathalie Du Pasquier (Italy/France)
Buckminster Fuller (US)
Espace Aygo (Belgium)
Stef Fusani* (Italy/Spain)
Theaster Gates (US)
Shao-Chun Hsu (Taiwan/Netherlands)
Jonghoo Jeong (South Korea/Netherlands)
Kostas Lambridis (Greece)
Maximilian Marchesani (Italy)
Nifemi Marcus-Bello (Nigeria)
Alessandro Mendini (Italy)
Lucas Muñoz Muñoz* (Spain)
Objects of Common Interest (Greece/US)
Kevin Quale (US)
Moon Seop Seo (South Korea)
The Shakers (US)
Ettore Sottsass Jr. (Italy)
Superflux (UK)
Christoph Wimmer Ruelland (Austria)
WKND Lab (South Korea)
“Joseph and I are thrilled to work with such an incredible cadre of global designers, who represent some of the most exciting and innovative work emerging in the field. I am very much looking forward to engaging audiences with the depth and range of works in the triennial, which span widely in concept, material, and technical approach, and think visitors, whether new or familiar with the subject, will be inspired, moved, and even surprised with the possibilities that design affords us,” said Altay. “Walker Design Triennial: Beyond Materialism is also such an important moment for the Walker as we expand on our institution’s longstanding commitment to design and continue our history of giving artists and designers from across the world opportunities to present in the United States.”
More details about specific themes, featured works—including the commissions—and accompanying public programming will be shared throughout 2026.
About Design at the Walker
The Walker’s design history can be traced to its earliest days as a public art center, when its first director, Daniel Defenbacher, an architect by training, initiated several groundbreaking projects about modern design. This included the installation of Idea Houses I and II (1941, 1947), which featured the latest innovations in domestic architectural, product, and interior design. The Idea Houses were further augmented by The Everyday Art Gallery, which opened in 1946. Curated by Hilde Reiss, the Gallery offered ambitious exhibitions on design—that also served to bridge the more accessible products of modern living and the less familiar world of modern art. Since those first presentations, the Walker has organized dozens of exhibitions exploring the work of visionary architects and designers. It has also been a leading voice in the development of printed materials and digital resources, exploring new formal and aesthetic approaches to exhibition catalogs, books, and online platforms.
In fall 2023, the Walker launched Idea House 3, a new physical and digital retail platform that brought unique design objects, furniture pieces, and essential texts on design actively into museum context. The emphasis on craftsmanship, singularity of vision, and scholarship inherent in Idea House 3 serves as the foundation for the design triennial, creating another pathway for visitors to connect with contemporary collectible design.
Curatorial Team:
Joseph Grima, Architect, Curator, and Founder of Space Caviar with Asli Altay, Head of Design, Communication & Content; Hanna Babyna, Design Programming Administrator, Design and Editorial; and Laurel Rand-Lewis, Curatorial Fellow, Visual Arts, Walker Art Center.
About Joseph Grima
Joseph Grima is an architect and curator based in Milan, Italy. He is the founder of Space Caviar, an architecture and research studio working at the intersection of design, technology, critical theory, and the public realm. Through built projects, publications, exhibitions, and films, Space Caviar’s work has been widely presented at institutions such as the Venice Architecture Biennale, Vitra Design Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum. He is also the cofounder of Alcova, an independent platform for forward-looking design held yearly during Milan Design Week and Miami Art Week.
Grima was previously editor-in-chief of Domus magazine and director of Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York. He co-curated the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2014 and co-directed the first Istanbul Design Biennial in 2012. He has curated exhibitions for major cultural institutions, served on international juries—including the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale—and taught at the AA in London and Strelka in Moscow. He also previously served as Chief Curator of Design at Triennale di Milano, where he oversaw exhibitions and research exploring contemporary design’s impact on society. From 2017 to 2025, he served as Creative Director of Design Academy Eindhoven, shaping the institution’s progressive approach to design education.
About Asli Altay
Asli Altay is the Head of Design, Communication & Content at the Walker and serves as the artistic director of the triennial. Previously, she was a creative director at Apple and the founding director of Future Anecdotes, a leading design studio in Istanbul. Altay has collaborated with various art institutions and museums, contributing to significant projects such as the İstanbul Design Biennial, a touring exhibition on Soviet Architecture, and the Van Abbe Museum's permanent collection. She has also taught design courses at Bilgi. With a keen interest in building narratives through design, Altay works on diverse projects that encompass branding, communication strategies, and publishing.
About the Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a renowned multidisciplinary arts institution that presents, collects, and supports the creation of groundbreaking work across the visual and performing arts, moving image, and design. Guided by the belief that art has the power to bring joy and solace and the ability to unite people through dialogue and shared experiences, the Walker engages communities through a dynamic array of exhibitions, performances, events, and initiatives. Its multiacre campus includes 65,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, the state-of-the-art McGuire Theater and Walker Cinema, and ample green space that connects with the adjoining Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The Garden, a partnership with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, is one of the first urban sculpture parks of its kind in the United States and home to the beloved Twin Cities landmark Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Recognized for its ambitious program and growing collection of more than 16,000 works, the Walker embraces emerging art forms and amplifies the work of artists from the Twin Cities and from across the country and the globe. Its broad spectrum of offerings makes it a lively and welcoming hub for artistic expression, creative innovation, and community connection. #walkerartcenter#sunstormfineartmagazine#sunstormfineart,agazine.com
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