During Dutch Design Week (17 - 25 October), the Van Abbemuseum and Design Academy organise the exhibition Thing Nothing. Thing Nothing is on view in the museum until 15 November 2015.

In Thing Nothing Design Academy Eindhoven and the Van Abbemuseum research the meaning, value and future of things. The exhibition addresses the relation between form and counter-form, between the real and the virtual, between technological possibilities and moral issues.

The exhibition looks at the way design, in dealing with actual materials, shapes and production processes, can also script the intangible qualities of the material world. Over the years, the academy has encouraged students to look beyond the material properties of things, and to search for a presence that Taoists might describe as ‘nothingness’: the space in and around the object. As virtual space becomes an integral part of our daily environment, designers venture more and more into this world of the unseen, the unspoken, the unmade.

Participating designers / artists

Auger & Loizeau, Mark Bain, Aldo Bakker, James Bridle, Heath Bunting, Committee, Alison Crank, Edith Dekyndt, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Portable Palace, Jalila Essaïdi, Studio Drift, Dunne & Raby, Alix Gallet, Imme van der Haak, Olivier van Herpt & Sander Wassink, Hannah Hiecke, Niels Hoebers, HRL Laboratories, Floris Kaayk, Chris Kabel, Marlies Kolodziey, Guillemette Legrand & Eva Jaeger, Lucas Maassen, Metahaven, !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Atelier Montè, MVRDV, Bastiaan de Nennie, Ted Noten, Emilie Pallard & Niels Heymans, Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, Unknown Fields Division, Julijonas Urbonas, Ai WeiWei, The Why-Factory, Jólan van der Wiel, Atelier Yuri Veerman, Giuditta Vendrame,  Jetske Visser, Y.Lo, Hongjie Yang.

Opening hours during DDW

During DDW we have extended opening hours. The museum is open daily from 11.00 until 18.00. On Thursday we are open until 21.00.

Admission during DDW

Admission only with a DDW passe-partout. Availabe online (€16 euro pp excl service costs / €8,50 excl service costs for 12-18 years and students) or available at the door €18,50 euro pp / €11 for 12-18 years and students).
With a DDW passe-partout you can visit the museum's collection exhibition for a reduced price. Admission in combination with a passe-partout is:  Adults € 6,- / holders Stadspas (city pass) and students € 3,-/ 13-18 years  € 3,- / Museumcard holders: free / Groups of 10 or more € 6,- / Family ticket € 12,-.

Ongoing dialogue

Thing Nothing is the third exhibition in which Design Academy Eindhoven and the Van Abbemuseum collaborate. The first, Self Unself was sparked by the unselfish inclination of present day designers. The second, Sense Nonsense embraced the irrational as a creative force. Together with Thing Nothing they form a trilogy about new positions in design.

It is part of the series “Uitnodiging tot dialoog” (Invitation to dialogue). In this programme top institutes and individuals – experts in their own field – will be invited to develop new projects in the Van Abbemuseum. They will contribute new knowledge and expertise, leading to different cooperative ventures and strengthening the links between design, art and society.