Pre-registration for this event is now closed. Walk-in attendees will be admitted on a space-available basis.

A signature program of the Kusske Design Initiative (KDI), the Kusske Lecture & Dialogue Series features renowned design practitioners and thought leaders whose work models ways of addressing humanity’s most pressing issues and generating solutions for our radically changing world.

In this year’s keynote, Antonelli will describe the ways in which design offers a profound lens through which we can better understand the ecosystems we inhabit. She will advocate for a contemporary form of animism as a pathway to a more respectful and sustainable approach to the diverse theaters of life. By adopting this perspective, Antonelli believes we can foster constructive strategies for designing a better future for all—be it species, places, or even objects. Her approach emphasizes the interconnectedness of existence and highlights the importance of embracing a plurality of wisdoms and practices to ensure the ongoing preservation of our world.

Antonelli is senior curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA, as well as the museum’s founding director of research and development. Her work investigates design in all its forms, from architecture to video games, often expanding its reach to include overlooked objects and practices. Her exhibitions, lectures, and writings contemplate design’s intersection and interaction with other fields (from technology and biology to popular culture) and with life—that of individuals, communities, all species, and all planets. Her goal is to promote people’s understanding of design, until its positive influence on the world is universally acknowledged.

Antonelli has been named one of the 25 most incisive design visionaries in the world by TIME magazine, has earned the Smithsonian Institution’s Design Mind National Design Award, has been inducted in the US Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, and has received the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) Medal, the Compasso d’Oro from the Italian Association for Industrial Design, the London Design Medal, and the German Design Award, among other accolades.

Following the keynote, Antonelli will participate in a discussion with College of Design Dean Prasad Boradkar, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Science Emily Beverly of the College of Science and Engineering, and Director of the Center for Climate Literacy and Sidney and Marguerite Henry Professor of Children’s and Young Adult Literature Marek Oziewicz of the College of Education and Human Development. An audience Q&A will follow.

This event will include ASL interpretation. To request disability-related accommodations please contact Alanna Nissen, Kusske Design Initiative Coordinator, at nisse114@umn.edu.

This event will be video recorded and photographed. By entering the event premises, you consent to such recording media and its release, publication, exhibition or reproduction.

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