The Design Museum, which will relocate to new premises at the former Commonwealth Institute, Kensington in 2014 has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Seoul Design Foundation, becoming part of an international consortium of design institutions, which includes the Seoul Design Foundation, Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, Vitra Design Museum, Frankfurt Museum of Applied Arts and Red Dot Design Museum in Germany, Taiwan Design Centre and Objeto Brazil.
The MOU is a global association of design institutions creating improved networks for communications, collaborations with touring exhibitions and learning programmes, promotional activities and development initiatives.
The partnership will create a direct link between the design capitals of London and Korea, with the Design Museum touring exhibitions to the Zaha Hadid designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Korea which will open in 2013. The Design Museum will also showcase Dongdaemun Design Plaza touring exhibitions and create shared learning opportunities.
Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum stated:“Korea has firmly established itself as a global design leader and the West has much to learn from its unique design approach. This partnership opens a window to new collaborations and opportunities with design institutes around the world, securing the Design Museums place on the global design stage as we prepare to move to our new premises in 2014.”
The new Design Museum with interiors designed by John Pawson will be three times the size of its current home and will create a showcase for its world-class collection, and greatly expand its education and public events programme. The new Design Museum will be a platform for promoting design as a national asset, and supporting the next generation of creative talent. It is considered the world’s leading museum devoted to architecture and industrial design. It is working to place design at the centre of contemporary culture. It demonstrates both the richness of the creativity to be found in all forms of design, and its importance. The Design Museum is the definitive voice of contemporary design in the UK. Founded in 1989 and currently located in Shad Thames, its work encompasses all elements of design, including product design, graphic design, and fashion. The Design Museum plans to relocate from its current home at Shad Thames to the former Commonwealth Institute building, in Kensington, West London. The project is expected to be completed by 2014. Leading designer John Pawson will convert the interior of the Commonwealth Institute building to create a new home for the Design Museum giving it three times more space in which to show a wider range of exhibitions, showcase its world class collection and extend its learning programme. designmuseum.org
About the Seoul Design Foundation
The Seoul Design Foundation aims to promote Seoul’s design industry and spread design culture with its monumental multipurpose complex Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). DDP aims to become the hub of global design when it opens in 2013.
