PhD Seminar by John Thackara - The New Geographies of Innovation: Urban-Rural Reconnection and Relational Design

John Thackara is a philosopher and curator. He curated the celebrated Doors of Perception conference for 20 years – first in Amsterdam, later across India – and was commissioner of the UK social innovation biennial Dott 07, the French design biennial City Eco Lab, and (in November 2019) Urban-Rural exhibition in Shanghai. With a focus on social, ecological and relational design, Thackara has curated place-based Xskool Workshops in 20 countries. He studied philosophy before working for ten years as a book publisher and magazine editor. He was the first director (1993—99) of the Netherlands Design Institute. He is a senior fellow at the Royal College of Art in London, visiting professor at School of Visual Arts in New York, visiting professor at Tongji University in Shanghai, and curator of the Social Food Forum. His most recent book - How To Thrive In the Next Economy: Designing Tomorrow's World Today - has just been published in China. More info: thackara.com.