Welcome to the Collab Journal. Collab collects and shares design from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Join us as we continue to explore the ever-evolving world of design from the past, present, and future.

FROM THE CO-CHAIRS

Welcome to the Collab Journal

November 2024

Dear Friends,

Japanese design has held a place in our collective Collab hearts since 1986, when the first Design Excellence Award honored the extraordinary George Nakashima. While much in the world has changed in the last five decades since its founding, Collab’s dedication to presenting the best in design is unwavering.

This year, it is our great pleasure to celebrate Naoto Fukasawa as the 2024 Collab Design Excellence Award honoree. Naoto Fukasawa’s in-person, illustrated presentation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art will occur on Thursday, December 12th, followed by the opening of the designer’s first major US exhibition. We hope that you will join us for this special occasion to celebrate Naoto Fukasawa as he is presented with this distinguished honor by Collab and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The exhibition Naoto Fukasawa: Things in Themselves (12/13/2024 – 4/20/2024) on view in Collab Gallery 219, features furniture, objects and electronics that illustrate the designer’s philosophy of longevity, accessibility and subtle humor over novelty or blatant commercialism. It is stunning and we know that you will love it.

This edition of the Journal includes work by national design school students responding to a design prospectus inspired by Fukasawa in the Collab Student Design Competition; images from a members’ behind-the-scenes tour of RAIR Philly; and images from the DesignPhiladelphia / Collab panel discussion “Bridging the Future: Design Education and K-12 Innovation Pipelines.”

Consider becoming a member of Collab, connecting at Collab events, following us on Instagram (@collabpma) and Facebook (collab.philamuseum), and sharing your own design ideas.

Eileen Tognini and Jermaine Jenkins, Collab Co-Chairs

Featured Posts

The Collab Journal

Events

Tabletop Challenge: Student Design Competition 2024

Events

Exhibition

Take a Seat: Understanding the Modern Chair

Exhibition

Visitors to the Collab gallery at the Philadelphia Museum of Art have been treated this summer to a small yet mighty exhibition relegated to modern and contemporary chairs. Collab board member Rosemarie Fabien interviewed Alisa Chiles, Assistant Curator of European Decorative Arts, about the exhibit, which is currently on view until October 20, 2024.

Exhibition

Industry

Collab announces the 2024 Design Excellence Award Recipient: Naoto Fukasawa

Industry

Exhibition

Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place

Exhibition

Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place exhibit at the Collab Gallery in the PMA.

Exhibition

Collab PMA 12/31/22 Collab PMA 12/31/22

2022 Student Design Competition

See the winners and honorable mentions from the 2022 Collab Student Design Competition.

Rosemarie Fabien 11/26/22 Rosemarie Fabien 11/26/22

New Acquisition Fund for Collab

Neil Sandvold may now live on the Oregon coast, but the heart of this Philadelphia architect is with the design collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Collab PMA 11/26/22 Collab PMA 11/26/22

Curating “Cultivating Design: Recent Acquisitions”

This installation highlighted some recent additions to the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary design, ranging from furniture, textiles, and tableware to posters and consumer electronics.

Collab PMA 11/26/22 Collab PMA 11/26/22

Meet the curators

Meet the curators: a peek behind the current at the future of the collection.

Collab PMA 11/26/22 Collab PMA 11/26/22

Collab: Past, Present and Future of Design

A look at who and what Collab is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Rosemarie Fabien 11/15/22 Rosemarie Fabien 11/15/22

Signs of the Times

For the first time in the 35-year history of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts program, a collaborative project has entered the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and been featured in a gallery exhibition.

Lindsay Bedford 11/15/22 Lindsay Bedford 11/15/22

The Next Generation of Design

Students Reimagine the Future of Design for the Collab Student

Kathy Hiesinger 11/15/22 Kathy Hiesinger 11/15/22

Recent Design Acquisitions 2021 -2022

Recent Acquisitions for the 2022 Collab Journal

Lindsay Bedford 11/15/22 Lindsay Bedford 11/15/22

Collab and Techné Welcome Jomo Tariku to the Philadelphia Museum of Art

In the summer of 2022, Collab and Techné - the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s International Craft affinity group - joined together to host Ethiopian American artist and industrial designer Jomo Tariku for a conversation to learn more about his craft and his approach to design.

Colin Fanning 11/15/22 Colin Fanning 11/15/22

2023 Design Excellence Award Preview: Stephen Burks

Polymath designer Stephen Burks (b. 1969) will be the next recipient of the Collab Design Excellence Award.

Royce Epstein 11/13/22 Royce Epstein 11/13/22

The Dualities of George Nakashima

So why are people drawn to Nakashima and continue to be fascinated by his work? There are many factors, but the most resonant one is Dualities.

Colin Fanning 11/13/22 Colin Fanning 11/13/22

Rhythms of Nature: The Art and Design of DRIFT

The 2022 Collab Design Excellence Award honors DRIFT, the Amsterdam-based studio co-founded in 2007 by Lonneke Gordijn (b. 1980) and Ralph Nauta (b. 1978). DRIFT is a multidisciplinary practice that freely bridges the categories of art and design.

Royce Epstein 11/13/22 Royce Epstein 11/13/22

Collab: Collecting Design

Through the lens of collecting design, Collab’s programming contributes to the design legacy of Philadelphia and beyond. Our collection is one of the largest and most important holdings of any encyclopedic museum in the world.

Philadelphia Museum of Art 2/17/22 Philadelphia Museum of Art 2/17/22

Circus: Bouroullec Designs

Explore the work of brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, leading figures in contemporary industrial design and recipients of the 2021 Collab Design Excellence Award.