The 1-st Design Biennale in Rotterdam

21/02/2025

Ten Days of Design across Various Venues in Rotterdam – 19-th of February 2-nd of March !

The energetic Liv Vaisberg (behind the name is The Collectible project in Brussels) moved to Rotterdam a few years ago, which was lucky. And the result is that the first Design Biennale Rotterdam opened on the 19-th of February. The city of architect Rem Koolhaas has long deserved such a Design Forum. In recent years, it has become an advanced hub for young designers from the Netherlands and beyond. The city has developed a design community friendly to each other’s work. As Europe’s number 1 seaport, Rotterdam is convenient for transporting the products of successful designers (shipping worldwide). Built in a futuristic style after World War 2, the city of Osip Tzadkin’s sculptures inspires super modern design.

Manifesto:

“Design Biennale Rotterdam is a ten-day citywide showcase exploring what design means today. From 20 February to 2 March 2025, Rotterdam will transform into a destination for forward-thinking design and fresh perspectives. Featuring exhibitions, experiences, and conferences across cultural institutions and unexpected venues, the Biennale will present local talent and global design figures, positioning design as a transformative force for change.

Building on Rotterdam’s legacy of reinvention, a city built on resilience, and a future-focused community, the Biennale rethinks design’s role in shaping the world. Through innovative exhibitions and immersive experiences, it challenges conventional ideas and explores unexpected contexts. As a platform envisioning new possibilities, the event highlights Rotterdam as a city where design shapes the future.

The programme will begin with two special Early Extended Programme, providing an enhanced professional experience featuring conferences, private parties, and exclusive tours. Following these, the Biennale Pass will be available for both professionals and the interested public, offering unlimited access to all venues and a special side programme throughout the event.”

Sammy Baloji – a solo exhibition at Kunsthal Extra City, Antwerp

On 17 April, a solo exhibition by Sammy Baloji arrived -like a mnemonic vessel of historical memory - at Kunsthal Extra City in Antwerp, a former Dominican monastery now functioning as a contemporary art space. The exhibition settles seamlessly into the interiors of...

Marina Yee – the final confessional interview at Sofie Van De Velde

Marina Yee - the most “little-known” member of the world-famous Antwerp Six - not for any lack of God-given talent. A girl who grew up in Congo, where her father worked as a colonial official, she showed an early gift for drawing and for altering clothes. Her family...

The bicentenary of the Val Saint Lambert Crystal Works

The history of the Val Saint-Lambert crystal manufactory deserves a place in school history textbooks at the intersection of eras and revolutions. A Cistercian abbey, founded in the Middle Ages near the town of Seraing, was closed by the passionate agents of the...

“Metamorphoses: after Ovid” exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas corpora; di, coeptis (nam vos mutastis et illas) adspirate meis primaque ab origine mundi ad mea perpetuum deducite tempora carmen. My mind now strives to tell of bodies changed,Which gods transformed into forms anew;Breathe...

BXL Gourmand – Exploring Brussels finest chocolatiers on the 28–29 March

Announcement! It all began in 1912, when chocolatier Jean Neuhaus created the first praline in the Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert. Since then, the Belgian capital has become one of the world’s centres of chocolate craftsmanship. Today, more than 150 companies and...

“Picture Perfect” – Beauty through a Contemporary Lens at Bozar

The exhibition centre BOZAR in Brussels, having opened the lavish exhibition Bellezza e Bruttezza (Beauty and Ugliness) on 20 February 2026 - running until 14 June 2026 - which explores beauty and ugliness in the Renaissance, continues to reflect on the concept of...