Serpentine Galleries Names Formafantasma as Lead R&D Fellows for Ecology Collaboration
Serpentine Galleries announced a multi-year collaboration with Formafantasma, the research-based design studio led by Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, appointing them as Lead R&D Fellows, Ecology. The partnership aims to embed environmental thinking across Serpentine’s programme, operations, and organisational culture. Beginning in summer 2026, the role will encompass curatorial guidance, institutional advisory, and knowledge-building in areas including exhibition-making, daily operations, resource use, labour, and civic engagement. The collaboration will open with a research phase to map Serpentine’s existing processes and identify opportunities for ecological intervention, alongside a multi-year public programme to share findings and methodologies. Formafantasma previously presented 'Cambio' at Serpentine North in 2020, a research-led exhibition on the global timber industry.
The Signal
The appointment signals Serpentine’s deepening institutional commitment to embedding ecological practice into its core operations rather than treating sustainability as a separate initiative. By positioning a design studio as fellows rather than simply commissioning a one-off exhibition, the gallery is adopting a model of long-term, embedded research that could influence how museums integrate environmental thinking at every level—from exhibition design to supply chains. For artists and curators, this move reflects a broader shift toward institutional collaborations that foreground process, systems thinking, and public engagement over discrete projects. The public programme will also offer a rare window into the typically opaque institutional change-making process.
- Artists: Formafantasma
- People: Andrea Trimarchi, Simone Farresin
- Museums: Serpentine Galleries
- Locations: London
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