Form Follows Friendship
From 14 to 28 June, the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt am Main is hosting the pop-up exhibition Form Follows Friendship, a project by the German Design Council developed in collaboration with the diplomatic network of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as part of Open – Design Week and World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026.
Three Teams, Three Perspectives
An interdisciplinary jury comprising experts from the fields of design, architecture and culture selected six designers from the Netherlands and Germany in the run-up to the event. The jury included Ellen Schindler, managing partner at De Zwarte Hond, Marcel Besau and Eva Marguerre from Studio Besau-Marguerre, and Nadia Troeman from the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam.
Since then, the selected designers have been working in binational pairs on projects designed to initiate processes of change in society, the economy or culture. The collaboration is strongly practice-based. Models are developed, exchanged and refined, so that the ideas take shape through materials and iteration during the process.
The project uses their different perspectives as a starting point for the joint design process. At the same time, the programme reflects how design today operates across borders and disciplines, and how joint authorship emerges through collaboration.
This has resulted in three projects that will be on display as part of the Museum Angewandte Kunst exhibition:
- “A Matter of Light”, developed by textile and material designer Verena Brom and multidisciplinary designer Sjoerd Geerts, explores a modular lighting system made from bio-based materials derived from industrial waste.
- “Form Follows Fold” by Studio Luis Marie (Rotterdam) and Friedrich Gerlach (Weimar) examines how structural forms emerge through folding and material transformation.
- “AI Tells You Everything” by designer Tina Lenz (Amsterdam) and communication designer Enes Kazim Pavlucovic (Darmstadt) explores how AI shapes narratives. In an interactive workshop, visitors can use machines to create their own texts and printed materials.
“Form Follows Friendship” demonstrates how international collaborations in design can be supported, whilst also providing a framework for new partnerships.
