NL

Absent by Design

  • 06/06
  • 27/06
Absent by Design shows that disappearance does not happen by coincidence. The choices that are made by designers and their clients, determine which voices are expressed and which stories we will hear. What becomes visible, is shaped by the systems in which we work. And those same systems also decide what remains unseen, and unheard.
  • 01:00 PM - 06:00 PM
  • 06 Jun 2026 - 27 Jun 2026
  • Location: AG - Minrebroederstraat 16 - Utrecht
In this exhibition, second-year students from HKU Graphic Design present nine of their collaborative projects. In these projects, they investigate how graphic design is related to the magnifying or conversely, the concealment, of positions and interests, by a mechanism that is sometimes deliberately applied, but also happens by accident a lot. The underlying systems, economic, social, cultural, technological or institutional – form an underexposed aspect of graphic design. From various perspectives, Absent by Design lets you feel how structural exclusion is lodged in our society, in the canon of the profession and the daily design practices.

The installations, prints and videos in the exhibition reveal various forms of absence: from colonial and feminist narratives to marginalisation and censorship. The engage in a dialogue with each other and with the audience, inviting you to look from a different light. What is visible. And moreover: what is left out?

Opening: Friday 5 June at 17.00