A World in the Making at Vitra Design Museum explores the legacy of the Shakers, a religious group that originated in the 18th century whose design approach was rooted in community, labour and social equality. The exhibition and publication examine the Shakers from a contemporary perspective, placing them alongside new commissions by artists and designers.
Our design centres around a newly commissioned series of photographs, created in close collaboration with photographer Alex Lesage. Together, we developed a body of work – shot at the Shaker Museum, as well as at the Hancock and Mount Lebanon Shaker villages in Massachusetts and New York – that offers a new lens on Shaker life. Custom sans-serif typography reflects the impact the Shakers had on the world, with letterforms that echo the shapes of the beautiful objects they created. The letter ‘E’, for instance, is drawn from the handle of a polishing broom designed around 1850.
The exhibition design, developed in collaboration with Formafantasma, is rooted in Shaker ideology and materiality, using simple, honest materials throughout. Delicate timber joinery and a colourful palette of fabrics cover the gallery walls and surfaces, with interpretation texts printed on warm textured paper and fixed with nails. Across the exhibition, imagery is printed directly to the coloured fabric surfaces.
The exhibition is organised by the Vitra Design Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, and the Wüstenrot Foundation in collaboration with Shaker Museum.
Polishing broom (c.1850, Mount Lebanon, NY), photographed at Historic Mount Lebanon Site, New Lebanon, NY, 2024. Photo: © Vitra Design Museum / Alex Lesage, courtesy Shaker Museum, Chatham, New York.
Installation photography: Martin Schgaguler
