John Thackara bio

John Thackara is a writer, curator and event producer – and visiting professor at Tongji University – with a focus on urban-rural reconnection. 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 the 2019 China exhibition Urban-Rural. With a focus on social, ecological and relational design, Thackara has curated biennials and 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, and visiting professor at Polytechnic University of Milan and the School of Visual Arts in New York. His most recent book – How To Thrive In the Next Economy: Designing Tomorrow’s World Today – was published in China in 2019.