Formafantasma appointed Lead R&D Fellow for Ecology at Serpentine

The Serpentine in London has named Italian design duo Formafantasma—Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin—as its new Lead R&D Fellows for Ecology. The appointment, starting this summer, involves curatorial guidance, institutional consultancy, and knowledge-sharing on exhibition design, resource use, management, and the museum's civic role. The collaboration begins with a research phase to map existing processes and systems, identifying opportunities for ecological intervention and long-term change. A multi-year public program will invite audience participation to share and disseminate findings. This follows Formafantasma's 2020 exhibition 'Cambio' at Serpentine, which examined the ecological, political, and economic dimensions of the global timber industry. Artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist noted that the collaboration continues the legacy of ecological thinking inspired by Gustav Metzger since 2009. CEO Bettina Korek stated the partnership extends ecological thought to the institution's systems, spaces, and daily practices, investigating its role in the ecological crisis.