Yesomi Umolu appointed General and Artistic Director

The Supervisory Board of the Nieuwe Instituut, the Netherlands’ national museum for architecture, design and digital culture in Rotterdam, has appointed Yesomi Umolu as its new General and Artistic Director. Umolu will take up the position on March 1, 2026. She succeeds Aric Chen, who acted as General and Artistic Director until his departure last summer.

With Yesomi Umolu, the Nieuwe Instituut welcomes a new General and Artistic Director who brings extensive knowledge of contemporary art, architecture, and digital culture, as well as a wealth of experience in artistic leadership within cultural organizations across the international field. 

Most recently, she served as Director of Curatorial Affairs and Public Practice at Serpentine in London, where she oversaw artistic programming and the curatorial team. She was also the Artistic Director of the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial—the largest architecture and design exhibition in North America. Her curatorial portfolio includes numerous exhibitions, commissions, and publications with renowned artists and architects. 

In addition to her curatorial work, Umolu advises cultural and philanthropic organizations and frequently speaks around the world on museum practices. Umolu was a trustee of the Graham Foundation in Chicago and was a member of the curatorial advisory board for the US Pavilion at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale.

Farah Karimi, Chair of the Supervisory Board, Nieuwe Instituut: “We are delighted to welcome Yesomi Umolu as the new General and Artistic Director of the Nieuwe Instituut. With her training as an architect and her outstanding international experience including her curatorship of the Chicago Architecture Biennale, Yesomi brings a distinctive combination of disciplinary expertise and cultural imagination. Her curatorial practice and her vision for architecture, design, and digital culture make her exceptionally well suited to lead, together with Aukje Bolle, the Nieuwe Instituut into an exciting new chapter. We look forward to strengthening our role as a national and international institute for future-oriented design under their shared leadership.”

Yesomi Umolu commented: “It’s a great honor to lead a new chapter in the Nieuwe Instituut’s artistic journey. Nieuwe Instituut is a singular institution that brings together heritage and contemporary practice across architecture, design, and digital culture – fields that have deeply shaped my curatorial work. I look forward to working closely with Aukje Bolle and colleagues across the Nieuwe Instituut to further strengthen our institutional practice, and to develop programming that is ambitious, meaningful, and sustainable.”

Aukje Bolle, General and Managing Director, Nieuwe Instituut: “With her arrival at the Nieuwe Instituut, Yesomi Umolu will make a positive contribution to the further development of our wonderful organization. Yesomi brings a wealth of experience from internationally renowned cultural institutions, extensive knowledge of architecture, design, and contemporary art, and a clear vision of the role that the design disciplines can play in the social, ecological, and digital challenges of our time. An asset to the organization and the sector. I look forward to working together!”

Yesomi Umolu was selected following a careful recruitment process, conducted with the support of executive search agency Colourful People. Together with Aukje Bolle, General and Managing Director, she will form the Executive Board of the Nieuwe Instituut. Umolu will take up her new position on March 1, 2026.

About Nieuwe Instituut
Nieuwe Instituut is the Netherlands’ national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture, located in Rotterdam’s Museumpark. Through exhibitions, events, research and other national and international initiatives, we show how design ideas contribute positively to urgent societal and ecological challenges. We don’t just want to imagine a better future, we want to test it and put it into practice. Nieuwe Instituut is a hospitable and lively place, where diverse designers, thinkers and the public meet. Multivocality is also the foundation of the Zoöp, our organisational model in which non-human life has a voice. Nieuwe Instituut is also responsible for the management, conservation and accessibility of the National Collection for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning, one of the largest architectural collections in the world, and the Sonneveld House Museum, an icon of Dutch functionalist architecture dating from 1933.