Join us for a free afternoon of talks in partnership with RMIT University featuring leading designers, artists, researchers and innovators as they explore the ideas behind Plant Life: The Nature of Design. Through a series of conversations, discover how plant-based materials, Indigenous knowledge and regenerative design are shaping a more sustainable future.
Then take part in an exclusive after-hours exhibition tour led by Senior Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture, Ewan McEoin.
Bookings essential.
Emma Hakänsson, Total Ethics Fashion
Filmmaker exploring how Indigenous communities are leading regenerative, plant-based material futures.
Wridzer Bakker, Plantics
CEO of Plantics, world’s first 100% bio-based, recyclable, and circular thermoset resins and materials.
Matte Ager-McConnell, garigarra
Design Director of garigarra, a First Nations design agency centering Country through architecture.
Damien Wright, Wright Studios
Artist and designer, furniture maker exploring materials in deep time.
Lou Weis, Broached Commissions
Creative Director of Broached Commissions, uncovering the hidden histories of global timber extraction through contemporary furniture design.
Louise Dorignon, RMIT
Urban geographer and Senior Research Fellow at RMIT University exploring how mass timber is reshaping housing, construction and low-carbon urban futures.
Joost Bakker, Design by Joost
Award winning designer and sustainability pioneer presenting plant-based and bio-materials materials as alternatives to conventional building products.
Judith Glover, RMIT
Industrial designer and Senior Lecturer at RMIT exploring the future of mycelium and bio-materials.
Edward Linacre, Edward Linacre Studio
Designer developing recycled and bio-materials for more sustainable interiors.
Jordi Sánchez Forés, Avant Mater
Co-founder of Avant Mater a new design brand transforming agricultural waste into bio-based materials for architecture and design.
Naomi Stead, RMIT
Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor of Engagement in the College of Design and Social Context, design commentator and critic.
Michelle Douglas, RMIT
Associate Dean Industrial Design and internationally recognised design leader and researcher exploring strategic design, culture and regenerative approaches across industry, pedagogy and economy.
Donna Cleveland, RMIT
Design researcher and Dean of the School of Communication & Design at RMIT Vietnam leading discussions on sustainability, traditional knowledges and contemporary design.
Ewan McEoin, NGV
Senior Curator, Contemporary Design and Architecture, guiding conversations on the exhibition’s themes of design, material innovation and the future of plant-based making.
Further speakers to be announced.
From leather grown from fungi to fibreboard made from hemp, Plant Life: The Nature of Design explores humanity’s evolving relationship with the plant world through design, from ancestral craft knowledge and devotional making, through industrial exploitation and the rupture of the petrochemical century, to the designers building a regenerative material future today.
Plants have always been our most essential material collaborators – the source of shelter, sustenance, utility, beauty and meaning across every culture and era of human making. This exhibition traces that relationship from its deepest roots to its speculative futures, presenting furniture, architecture, decorative arts, craft, photography and film drawn from the NGV Collection alongside new commissions, recent acquisitions and key international loans.
