Scratching the Surface

Fleur Watson is the Executive Director and Chief Curator for the Centre for Architecture Victoria | Open House Melbourne and the author of the new book, The New Curator: Exhibiting Architecture and Design. She previously was curator at Design Hub Gallery at RMIT and an editor-in-chief at Monument magazine. In this episode, Jarrett and Fleur talk about her new book, evolving practices of curating d...

Charles Saumarez Smith is the author of The Art Museum in Modern Times, an architectural history of art museums. He previously was the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts in London and before this served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. In this conversation, Jarrett and Charles talk about the relationship between architecture and mu...

Jarrett Fuller is a designer, writer, educator, and host of Scratching the Surface. In this special episode celebrating both Scratching the Surface’s fifth anniversary and our 200th episode, Jarrett turns the tables on himself and and answers questions submitted by listeners like who would he like to bring back from the dead to interview? How’s the show changed in five years? What’s the role of de...

Esther Choi is a multidisciplinary artist and architectural historian. In 2019, she published Le Corbuffet, a Fluxus-inspired artist's book that adopts the form of a cookbook and in 2020, she started Office Hours, a socially-engaged initiative that cultivates the sharing of knowledge among practitioners who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In this episode, Esther and Jarrett tal...

Nina Paim is a designer, researcher, curator, educator, and activist. She is currently the director of Futuress, an editorial platform about feminism, design, and politics. She co-edited the book Design Struggles: Intersecting Histories, Pedagogies, and Perspectives and edited Taking A Line for A Walk. In this episode, Jarrett and Nina talk about Futuress and ideas around feminist publishing, how...

Guus Beumer was the general and artistic director of Het Nieuwe Instituut from 2013 to 2021. Before this, he was director of NAI Maastricht and Marres Center for Contemporary Culture. In this episode, Jarrett and Guus talk about the founding of Het Nieuwe Instituut, institutional administration as a design process, and balancing stability and instability in cultural institutions. Links from this e...

Aric Chen is a curator, writer, and design historian. He was recently appointed the general and artistic director of Rotterdam’s Het Nieuwe Institute (The New Institute) and previously served as curatorial director for Design Miami, curator at large for M+ and creative director of Beijing Design Week. He also is a professor and founding director of the Curatorial Lab at the College of Design and I...

Bryony Quinn is a writer, editor, and educator. She teaches in design programs at the University of East London, London College of Communication, Royal College of Art, and Camberwell College and has written or edited for a variety of publications and books like Bricks from the Kiln and Failed States. In this conversation, Jarrett and Bryony talk about her move from illustration to writing, how she...

Zak Kyes is the creative director and founder of Zak Group where he leads projects for cultural and commercial clients across scales and mediums. From 2006 to 2016, he was the art director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and in 2007 he curated with Mark Owens Forms of Inquiry: The Architecture of Critical Graphic Design. In this episode, Jarrett and Zak talk about...

Tereza Ruller is an Amsterdam-based designer and educator. She is the co-founder of The Rodina, post-critical design studio with an experimental practice drenched in strategies of performance art, play, and subversion. She’s also the author of Action to Surface, a theory of performative design. In this conversation, Jarrett and Tereza talk about what performative design is and how designers can us...

Tobias Revell is a designer, artist, educator, and administrator. He is currently Program Director of Graphic Design at the London College of Communication, a founding director of the design research consultancy Strange Telemetry, and is working on a PhD in Design at Goldsmiths. In this conversation, Jarrett and Tobias talk about working between art and design, the intersection of creative practic...

Glenn Adamson is a curator and writer who works at the intersection of craft, design history, and contemporary art. He’s the author, most recently, of Craft: An American History. He previously was the director of the Museum of Arts and Design, head of research at the V&A, and curator at the Chipstone Foundation. In this conversation, Jarrett and Glenn talk about the understanding craft and its rol...

Michael Kimmelman is the architecture critic at The New York Times. Prior to this role, he created the Abroad column while based in Berlin and was the chief art critic. He’s also the founder and editor-at-large of Headway, a new venture focused on global challenges and progress. In this conversation, Jarrett and Michael talk about how he transitioned from writing about art to architecture, the rol...

Todd Oldham has designed fashion and furniture, books and interiors. He’s also published books on Charley Harper, Alexander Girard, Nest, and Joan Jett. In this wide-range and inspiring conversation, Jarrett and Todd talk about growing up in creative households, Todd’s move from fashion to book publishing, and building a multidisciplinary practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchin...

Alexandra Cunningham Cameron is a curator of contemporary design and the Hintz Secretarial Scholar at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum. At Cooper Hewitt, she organized the first retrospective fashion designer Willi Smith that includes an exhibition, book, and online archive. Previously, she was a curator at Design Miami and the editor in chief of The Miami Rail. In this conversation, Jarrett and Al...

Willo Perron is a designer, creative director, and partner of Perron-Roettinger whose work spans branding, interiors, and live performance. Willo has designed stage sets, packaging, and marketing material for artists like Kanye West, JAY-Z, St. Vincent, and Rihanna as well as branding and retail design for Adidas, Yeezy, and American Apparel. In this episode, Jarrett and Willo talk about the term...

Deyan Sudjic likely needs no introduction. From 2006 to 2020, he was the director of London’s Design Museum, he was a founding editor of Blueprint, editor of Domus from 2000 to 2004, and was an architecture and design critic for The Observer and The Guardian. He’s also published a handful of books and has taught at both Kingston University and The Royal College of Art. In this conversation, Jarret...

Mike Essl is dean and associate professor at Cooper Union. He co-founded the design firm The Chopping Block, worked at Mule Design, and has taught at Parsons School of Design and School of Visual Arts. In this episode, we talk about disciplinary boundaries in design education, how teaching reignited his love for design, and why Cooper Union changed his life. Links from this episode can be found at...

Beatrice Galilee is a curator, critic, and editor. She’s currently the founder and executive director of The World Around and is the author of the new book, Radical Architecture of the Future. She previous was the curator of contemporary architecture and design at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, architecture editor for Icon Magazine, and has curated exhibitions and written for publications all aro...

Dori Tunstall is a design anthropologist, public intellectual, and design advocate who works at the intersections of critical theory, culture, and design. She’s currently the Dean of Design at Ontario College of Art and Design and previously taught at Swinburne University and the University of Illinois Chicago. In this episode, Jarrett and Dori talk about the intersection of design and anthropolog...

Brendan Cormier is a curator, editor, and designer. He’s currently a design curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum and was previously managing editor of Volume magazine and an urban designer and planner. In this episode, Jarrett and Brendan talk about how urbanism influences his work as a curator, using objects to tell stories, and the intersection of editorial and curatorial practice. Links from...

Milton S. F. Curry is dean and professor at the University of Southern California School of Architecture and holds the Della & Harry MacDonald Dean’s Chair in Architecture. He previously taught at University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Harvard, and Cornell. He also edited the journals Critical Productive and Appendx. In this episode. Ja...

Jeanne Gang is an architect, teacher, and the founding principal and partner of Studio Gang. The studio’s research-driven practice encourages intellectual curiosity and formal exploration across projects ranging from books and publications up to skyscrapers and urban planning. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jarrett and Jeanne talk about the role of research in the design process, building a st...

Sarah Meister was recently named the next executive director of Aperture, beginning in May 2021. Before this she was a Curator in the photography department at MoMA since 2009. In this episode, recorded before her appointment at Aperture, Jarrett and Sarah talk about the challenges in curating photography when everyone is a photographer, the parallels between design history and photography history...

Karla Britton and Robert McCarter are the editors of Modern Architecture and the Lifeworld: Essays in Honor of Kenneth Frampton, a fascinating collection of writing that responds to, expands upon, and honors the great architecture writer, educator, and historian Kenneth Frampton. In this episode, Jarrett talks with Karla and Robert about the Frampton’s legacy, his interest in connecting architectu...