Hans Ulrich Obrist (b. 1968, Zurich, Switzerland) is Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries, London. Prior to this, he was the Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first show “World Soup” (The Kitchen Show) in 1991, he has curated more than 300 shows.

Obrist’s recent publications include Mondialité, Conversations in Colombia, Ways of Curating, The Age of Earthquakes with Douglas Coupland and Shumon Basar, and Lives of The Artists, Lives of The Architects.

Studiomama is a multidisciplinary design studio based in East London and founded by the creative couple Nina Tolstrup and Jack Mama in 2000.

Nina’s Scandinavian roots and her training in industrial design at ENSCI-Les Ateliers in Paris combined with her diverse experience working with trends in Paris, design management, photo journalism and marketing in Copenhagen has given her a unique 360 perspective and approach to design.

Jack grew up with the rich ethnic influences of cosmopolitan London. After graduating from the Royal College of Art, Jack worked in the Netherlands and Sweden as creative director for global brands. Jack is known for his visionary work in the area of design futures and design strategy development. His work with Philips, Electrolux, Nike and BMW has been widely recognised. 

Studiomama’s wide-reaching work includes commissions Lexon, BMW , Skagerak and Habitat commissions for Bloomberg and the Danish Embassy, Wallpaper Handmade and projects with galleries such as Phillips de Pury.

For over 25 years the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has been at the forefront of international wood promotion, successfully building a distinctive and creative brand for U.S. hardwoods. AHEC’s global programme of activities secure a future for American hardwoods by demonstrating the performance and aesthetic potential of these sustainable materials, while providing valuable creative inspiration and technical advice.

Find out more about AHEC

Benchmark is a leading company of craftspeople and designers, founded 30 years ago by Sir Terence Conran and Sean Sutcliffe. Based in West Berkshire on a converted farm, the team is now 50 strong in over 40,000 sq ft of workshops for timber milling, carpentry, veneering, spraying, specialist metalworking and upholstery, as well as design studio and furniture showroom. Benchmark works extensively on design solutions for hotels, restaurants, public buildings, offices and private residences.

benchmarkfurniture.com

The London Design Festival is a key constituent of London’s autumn creative season, alongside London Fashion Week, Frieze Art Fair and the London Film Festival. Established in 2003 its role is to celebrate and promote London as the world’s design capital and gateway to the international design community and it has now established a reputation as one of the largest and most exciting design events in the world. This year the Festival will run from 15-23 September and over 400 events and installations will be on offer across the capital, from an exciting programme at the V&A to plus over 300 partners who will participate in the nine-day Festival.

@l_d_f_official

www.londondesignfestival.com

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK's national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance. 

www.vam.ac.uk