Paola Antonelli

Paola Antonelli’s work investigates design’s influence on everyday experience, often including overlooked objects and practices, and combining design, architecture, art, science and technology. In addition to her role as Senior Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA, Paola was appointed director of a new Research and Development initiative in 2012. She lectures frequently at high-level global conferences and coordinates cultural discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Antonelli’s recent online experiment, Design and Violence, with co-curator Jamer Hunt, has become a new paragon for curatorial practice and communication. She is currently working on several shows on contemporary design; on the book Design Bites; and on a new Theory of Everything for design.

Website: moma.org
Instagram: @paolantonelli
Twitter: @curiousoctopus
Facebook: MuseumofModernArt

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
THIS.

What is your current state of mind?
Anxious and overexcited.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Adventure!

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to calm down and focus.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I'd love to come back as myself, so I could experience also the future, and not only the present.

Where would you most like to live?
In New York!

What is your favorite occupation?
Swimming and sailing--in the sea.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Curiosity.

What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty and honesty.

What is it that you most dislike?
Smallness and pettiness.