Dream Out Loud

Venturing beyond aesthetic design, these designers show us ideas and technologies that can change the world. The presentation includes work by Pieke Bergmans, Studio Drift, Formafantasma, Bart Hess, Hella Jongerius, Metahaven, Studio Roosegaarde, Boyan Slat and others.

The 26 designers reveal playful and inventive solutions to some of the problems we’re facing today. Do you dream of being less dependent on meat? Then why not devise your own meat substitute. Do you fantasise about a clean universe? Then seek out non-oil based materials, or devise a smog free zone where you breathe fresh air. Is plastic debris poisoning our seas? Well, why not build a giant vacuum cleaner! These designers show upcycling in action, transforming surplus collections into hip fashion, crafting jewellery from old safety helmets or melting down discarded CDs to print a chair.

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phenomeneon – Pieke Bergmans – Milan 2016 – photo Mirjam Bleeke

While ‘social design’ may not always produce immediately viable applications, it opens up new ways of thinking, or brings the achievable closer through the power of imagination.

Dream Out Loud ties in with the Stedelijk’s ambition to highlight young artists and designers at an early stage of their career. It is also the latest in a series of bi-annual exhibitions that focus on the latest innovations in a particular art discipline. For each edition, the Stedelijk issues an open call to artists and designers, inviting them to submit their work. This year, the jury selected 26 participants from a total of 400 candidates who submitted 750 proposals on the theme of social design. Beatrix Ruf, director of the Stedelijk Museum, will announce which pieces have been purchased for the permanent collection later this autumn.

Participants in Dream Out Loud:


  • Agatha Haines
  • Bart Hess
  • Benedikt Fischer
  • Boyan Slat
  • Claire Verkoyen
  • Dirk van der Kooij
  • Elisa van Joolen
  • Fairphone (Bas van Abel)
  • Studio Stallinga (Henk Stallinga)


  • Floor Nijdeken
  • Formafantasma (Andrea Trimarchi en Simone Farresin)
  • Helmut Smits
  • Hella Jongerius / KLM
  • Jesse Howard
  • Marjan van Aubel
  • Marleen Kaptein / NLR / LABEL / BREED
  • Metahaven (Vinca Kruk en Daniel van der Velden)
  • We Make Carpets (Marcia Nolte, Stijn van der Vleuten en Bob Waardenburg)


  • Next Nature Network (Koert van Mensvoort en Hendrik-Jan Grievink)
  • Olivier van Herpt
  • Patrick Kruithof
  • Pavèl van Houten
  • Pieke Bergmans
  • Pieter Stoutjesdijk
  • Studio Drift (Lonneke Gordijn en Ralph Nauta)
  • Studio Roosegaarde (Daan Roosegaarde)


The jury comprised of:

Bas van Beek (designer and lecturer)
Corinna Gardner (curator of contemporary product design, Victoria & Albert Museum, London)
Caroline Prisse (artist, curator and director of Van Tetterode Glass Studio)
Chris Reinewald (design journalist and former editor-in-chief of Items and Museumvisie)
Lennart Booij (curator of applied arts, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, jury chairman and curator of the exhibition).

FRIDAY NIGHT 16 Sep, 23 Sep, 30 Sep 2016
Live Stream Gallery Talk: curator Lennart Booij talks with Dream Out Loud designers
Language: Dutch
Location: Facebook Livestream
More info

LECTURE 9 Dec 2016
Dream Out Loud: Designing for Tomorrow’s Demands
Language: Dutch
Location: Teijin Auditorium
More info available online shortly

FRIDAY NIGHT, 16 Dec 2016
Talk Show – Dream Out Loud and Make It Work
Language: Dutch
Locations: Audi Gallery 0.1
More info available online shortly