Prem Krishnamurthy: Past Words

Collected writings and collaborations from award-winning designer, artist, activist and curator Prem Krishnamurthy

Based in Berlin and New York, designer and curator Prem Krishnamurthy (born 1977) is head of the artist group Department of Transformation and of the design consultancy Wkshps. In 2015 he was the recipient of the Cooper Hewitt's National Design Award for Communication Design. As both creator and curator, Krishnamurthy aims to discover "how art & design can be agents of transformation for individuals, communities and institutions." Here, his collected writings from 2009 to 2024 are framed by two exhibition-like experiments: A Year with Prem Krishnamurthy at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art and Endless Exhibition at the Kunsthal Gent. Each section of the book is arranged by a different designer--Ann Richter, David Knowles, Mark Foss or Valentijn Goethals--giving the entire volume a sense of multiplicity. Taken together, Past Words looks at how design, curating, exhibition-making and language itself can create new realities.