Episode #3: This is going to hurt

Designers write. A podcast about the role of designers in the climate crisis and all the other worldwide disasters we face. Moderator Aynouk Tan questions designers about their profession on the basis of short essays they have written themselves. Participants in the third episode are the designers Lua Vollaard and Ruben Pater.

Trigger warning: This episode features an audio clip of the engine sounds of military drones, which may be triggering to people who have lived or worked in war zones.

Lua Vollaard

Lua Vollaard is a curator and writer with a background in visual culture, human rights research and photography. She is interested in the broad intersection of technology and ideology. Lua is a curator at Stroom Den Haag, holds an MA in Research Architecture from Goldsmiths University, and teaches image theory at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague and at the MA Critical Inquiry Lab at Design Academy Eindhoven. Lua Vollaard’s essay “Artifact Hypermuseum of Earth & Anthropocene Design” is a speculative approach to a future design museum located at – and consisting of – the crumbling and melting ice shelves of Antarctica. The text is analysed by our text curator Marjanne van Helvert.

Ruben Pater

Under the name Untold Stories, Ruben Pater creates visual narratives that support solidarity, justice, and equality. He is the author of the books The Politics of Design and CAPS LOCK. He graduated from the bachelor of graphic design St. Joost in Breda and the master of graphic design at the Sandberg institute in Amsterdam. Ruben Pater’s essay “A better environment starts with ourselves” discusses the pitfalls of sustainable design practices and invites designers to invest their time and talents to end the endless cycle of consumption and destruction. The text is reflected upon by our text curator Aminata Cairo.

Head curator Joeri Pruys reads excerpts from a political speech by Hans Wiebenga given in 1971 to the Dutch parliament. Wiebenga, leader of PSP (Pacifist Socialist Party) which would later became part of the Dutch greens, makes the case that the dogma of economic growth leads to the violation of human rights and the destruction of life on our planet.

Useful links:

• Essay “A better environment starts with ourselves” by Ruben Pater: https://designerswrite.org/essays/a-better-environment-starts-with-ourselves/
• Essay “Artifact Hypermuseum of Earth & Anthropocene Design” by Lua Vollaard: https://designerswrite.org/essays/artifact-hypermuseum-of-earth-anthropocene-design/
• Lua Vollaard's website: http://www.luavollaard.com
• Ruben Pater’s website: http://www.untold-stories.net
• Historical text: Speech at the 'Algemene politieke en financiële beschouwingen rijksbegroting 1972' (1971, excerpts) by Hans Wiebenga: https://designerswrite.org/historical-text/speech-at-the-algemene-politieke-en-financiele-beschouwingen-rijksbegroting-1972-1971-excerpts/
• Original publication of Hans Wiebenga's speech: https://repository.overheid.nl/frbr/sgd/19711972/0000216832/1/pdf/SGD_19711972_0000551.pdf
• More about Hans Wiebenga: https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09llcz55yp/h_hans_wiebenga
• Moderator Aynouk Tan's website: https://aynouktan.com 
• Text curator Marjanne van Helvert’s website: https://www.dirty-design.net
• Text curator Aminata Cairo’s website: https://aminatacairo.com