Author: Marijn van der Poll

How do we solve societal problems in the world of today? As a civil servant, or a governmental body, or an entrepreneur or a knowledge institute, or an expert or an independent thinker for that matter? Today’s problems cannot just be solved inside Ministries nor in innovation funnels in corperations. Increasingly public and private parties seek to work together, across different disciplines to get to grips with the complexity of themes such as energy, climate and care. My role as a strategic advisor is to help design and develop these interpersonal ecosystems. By focusing on doing instead of talking. By using design as an instrument to for creative critical analysis and the generation of new perspectives. By combining the forces of industry, legislation, design within an environment based on trust and the willingness to help. 

With the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management we’re currently working on a maker-space for societal challenges, an in-between-space, a Third Place. Below is the conversation that sparked the idea. A talk about our long term future as a society between Nadia Moussaid, Christian Bason, Paul van Nunen and Floris Alkemade at the Dutch Design Week. 

Marijn served as strategic advisor to the Association of Dutch Municipalities, the VNG and is currently working together with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. He is also an ambassador to the Dutch Design Week which works on societal challenges.

Do hit chair bound for the Friedman Benda gallery in New York. The Do hit chair was created in 1999 and premiered at the Salon del Mobile in 2000. It toured the world and is part of the collection of amongst others the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It is still the my most well known work.

We shot a 9 minute, continuous video just like with the no.1 prototype all those years ago. And at the same location, the Design Academy Eindhoven. We used a camera posted directly in front as in the original movie but had a second mobile camera. Between the two we created a short making of clip. The piece will be on display starting January 9th as part of the exhibition Comfort, curated by Omar Sosa.

for information on sales contact Droog in Amsterdam droog.com

List of exhibitions:

2000 Plan ett, Stockholm 2000 Salone del Mobile, Milan 2000 Kunsthal, Rotterdam 2000 Colette, Paris 2000 Rocket Gallery, Tokyo 2000 AA school of Architecture, London 2001 Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam 2001 Musée des Arts Décorative Louvre, Paris 2002 Apartment Zero, Washington 2002 Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles 2003 Salone del Mobile, Milan 2003 VIVID, Rotterdam 2003 Seoul Arts Center, Seoul 2003 Salone del Mobile, Milan 2003 Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh 2004 Haus der Kunst, Munich 2004 design zentrum Bremen, Bremen 2005 Gemeentemuseum, The Hague 2005 Victoria & Albert Museum, London 2005 Gorcum’s Museum, Gorinchem 2005 La Polyclinique de la culture, Brussels 2005 Museo Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba Brasil 2006 Grand-Hornu Images, Hainaut 2006 MU, Eindhoven 2006 Museum of Arts and Design, New York City 2006 Contemporary Art Terminal OCT, Shenzhen 2006 East Gallery, Melbourne 2006 Gallery Bund 18, Shanghai 2006 Sydney Opera House, Sydney 2007 TheNewDowse, Lower Hutt, New Zealand 2007 Erasmus Huis, Jakarta 2007 Yong He Art Museum, Beijing 2007 platform 21, Amsterdam 2007 Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta 2007 4141 Design, Miami 2008 Traffic, Dubai 2008 Salone del Mobile, Milan 2009 Designhuis, Eindhoven 2009 Pierre Bergé, Brussels 2010 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Tokyo 2010 Dutch Design Week 2011 Design Museum Holon 2011 Do hit in full color at Studio Job House 2011 Yksi expo, Eindhoven Netherlands 2011 YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS, San Francisco 2012 Istanbul Biennial 2012 Dutch Design Week 2013 New Museum, New York 2013 Motorenhalle,Dresden 2013 Yksi, Eindhoven Netherlands 2104 Dutch Design Week 2015 Biennial St Etienne 2015 Temporary Art Centre 2016 Marta Herford 2016 Science Gallery Dublin 2016 Gallery Tutti Cortex 2017 Martin&Lewis, Amsterdam 2020 Friedman Benda Gallery New York.

Upcoming: Centraal Museum, Utrecht February 2022.