Fungi exhibition at Het Nieuwe Instituut explores design and decay

21 NOV 2025–9 AUG 2026 | ROTTERDAM, 21 November 2025 – A new exhibition at Het Nieuwe Instituut examines fungi as designers with agency, disrupting human-centred narratives in science and design. Instead of tools or materials, fungi are portrayed as anarchic collaborators in shaping multi-species futures.

_{Image: FUNGI. Photo credit: Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing}

Fungi take centre stage in Rotterdam design exhibition

From 21 November 2025 to 9 August 2026, Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam will host FUNGI: anarchistische ontwerpers (fungi: anarchist designers), an exhibition curated by anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing and designer Feifei Zhou of studio terriStories. The show departs from conventional approaches in which fungi are considered useful organisms for human benefit, and instead explores how fungi exist independently, shaping ecosystems in ways that are often overlooked.

Rather than treating fungi as trendy materials or biological resources, the exhibition places them at the centre of ecological and political questions. According to the curators, fungi can function as both builders and destroyers, with roles deeply entangled in histories of colonialism and extractive capitalism.

Science, art and design merge in multispecies storytelling

The exhibition features interdisciplinary works that combine scientific research, visual arts, speculative design and ecological imagination. Each piece highlights how fungi operate on their own terms, disrupting dominant systems and proposing alternative futures.

One installation by Ivette Perfecto and Filipp Groubnov maps the spread of coffee rust – a fungus thriving on monoculture plantations in Latin America. Another collaborative piece by Alyssa Paredes and Maia Cruz Palileo focuses on the environmental damage caused by fungicidal chemicals on industrial banana plantations in the Philippines.

A multimedia installation by Bettina Stoetzer, Berkveldt and Åsa Sonjasdotter explores how wild boars consume radioactive mushrooms, thereby facilitating the movement of radioactivity through ecosystems. Additionally, Rob Dunn, along with design duo Baum & Leahy, present an interactive, multisensory work that investigates the role of yeast in shaping human digestion.

Fungi. Photo collection of the Netherlands Heath Society. Date and photographer unknown. Glass slide from the collection of the National Archives.

Address and directions

Het Nieuwe Instituut

The exhibition is being held at Het Nieuwe Instituut, located in the Museumpark area of Rotterdam. The institution is situated near landmarks such as the Kunsthal and Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, and is accessible via tram, metro and bicycle. The surrounding area includes a large public park and several cultural venues.