The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam appoints Amanda Pinatih as design curator
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam appoints Amanda Pinatih as design curator. Pinatih is an art historian, curator and PhD candidate. She is co-founder of the Design Museum Dharavi in Mumbai, India, and was member of Crafts Council Nederland and a guest lecturer at various academies.
“With the appointment of Amanda Pinatih we gain a curator who is able to provide the rich design collection of the Stedelijk Museum with new perspectives. Her experimental approach draws on the development of alternative forms of knowledge transfer and looks at how historical collections can be reactivated and play a meaningful role for a contemporary generation. Pinatih’s committed attitude is a refreshing addition to the Stedelijk; we look forward to working with her.”
Pinatih is co-founder of the Design Museum Dharavi, the first museum in Dharavi, a neighbourhood with 1 million inhabitants in the heart of Mumbai. The museum, a nomadic exhibition space, showcases local talent and is characterized by the use of design as a tool for social change. In addition, the museum constantly rethinks and challenges the boundaries of what a museum can be. With the Design Museum Dharavi, Pinatih has produced projects for the New York Times Art for Tomorrow conference in Qatar, The Design Museum in London and the Broken Nature exhibition at Triennale Milano last year. In its founding year, the museum was the recipient of the Leading Cultural Destination Award 2016 for Best New Museum – Asia Pacific and was nominated for the Beazley Design of the Year Award 2016.
In addition, the new Design curator has developed exhibitions in various capacities. Pinatih curated the HOW & WOW exhibitions for the Crafts Council Nederland where young makers were exhibited alongside established names. She is currently completing the exhibition One Square Meter Berber with designer Mina Abouzahra for the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakech.
Simultaneously with her appointment at the Stedelijk Museum, Pinatih is a PhD candidate at the VU University Amsterdam, where she researches how collections with a colonial origin in Dutch museums can play a role in forming the identity of younger target groups with a migrant background. Pinatih will also investigate ways of interpreting the collection of the Stedelijk from a polyphonic perspective.
