Welcome to the Collab Journal. Collab collects and shares design from the Philadelphia Art Museum. Join us as we continue to explore the ever-evolving world of design from the past, present, and future.

A Letter from our Co-Chair

November 2025

Welcome! Collab and the Philadelphia Art Museum are proud to present Sebastian Errazuriz: Double Take, and together we will celebrate his vision driven by the infinite curiosity of art, design, and technology as our 2025 Collab Design Excellence Award Honoree.

Establishing the Collab Design Excellence Award in 1986 provided Collab the platform to recognize the work of legendary design leaders that were changing the course of design history. These walls have welcomed and honored George Nakashima, Ingo Maurer, Zaha Hadid, Patricia Urquiola, Dieter Rams, Marcel Wander, Gaetano Pesce, to name only a few. Their accompanying exhibitions were often the first of their kind in any Museum and often with challenging execution, pushing boundaries, as all innovative design does.

We appreciate your steadfast support and your boundless curiosity and pleased you are with us on this design journey. Our warmest Congratulations to Sebastian Errazuriz!

Warmly,

Eileen Tognini Co-Chair, Collab 2025

Featured Posts

The Collab Journal

Industry

2025 Design Updates

Industry

Events

Student Design Competition 2025 Winners

Events

Exhibition, DEA, Events

Collab Design Excellence Award Recipient for 2025: Sebastian Errazuriz

Exhibition, DEA, Events

Exhibition

Take a Seat: Understanding the Modern Chair

Exhibition

Visitors to the Collab gallery at the Philadelphia Museum of Art have been treated this summer to a small yet mighty exhibition relegated to modern and contemporary chairs. Collab board member Rosemarie Fabien interviewed Alisa Chiles, Assistant Curator of European Decorative Arts, about the exhibit, which is currently on view until October 20, 2024.

Exhibition

Collab 12/31/22 Collab 12/31/22

2022 Student Design Competition

See the winners and honorable mentions from the 2022 Collab Student Design Competition.

Rosemarie Fabien 11/26/22 Rosemarie Fabien 11/26/22

New Acquisition Fund for Collab

Neil Sandvold may now live on the Oregon coast, but the heart of this Philadelphia architect is with the design collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Collab 11/26/22 Collab 11/26/22

Curating “Cultivating Design: Recent Acquisitions”

This installation highlighted some recent additions to the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary design, ranging from furniture, textiles, and tableware to posters and consumer electronics.

Collab 11/26/22 Collab 11/26/22

Meet the curators

Meet the curators: a peek behind the current at the future of the collection.

Collab 11/26/22 Collab 11/26/22

Collab: Past, Present and Future of Design

A look at who and what Collab is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Rosemarie Fabien 11/15/22 Rosemarie Fabien 11/15/22

Signs of the Times

For the first time in the 35-year history of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts program, a collaborative project has entered the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and been featured in a gallery exhibition.

Lindsay Bedford 11/15/22 Lindsay Bedford 11/15/22

The Next Generation of Design

Students Reimagine the Future of Design for the Collab Student

Kathy Hiesinger 11/15/22 Kathy Hiesinger 11/15/22

Recent Design Acquisitions 2021 -2022

Recent Acquisitions for the 2022 Collab Journal

Lindsay Bedford 11/15/22 Lindsay Bedford 11/15/22

Collab and Techné Welcome Jomo Tariku to the Philadelphia Museum of Art

In the summer of 2022, Collab and Techné - the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s International Craft affinity group - joined together to host Ethiopian American artist and industrial designer Jomo Tariku for a conversation to learn more about his craft and his approach to design.

Colin Fanning 11/15/22 Colin Fanning 11/15/22

2023 Design Excellence Award Preview: Stephen Burks

Polymath designer Stephen Burks (b. 1969) will be the next recipient of the Collab Design Excellence Award.

Royce Epstein 11/13/22 Royce Epstein 11/13/22

The Dualities of George Nakashima

So why are people drawn to Nakashima and continue to be fascinated by his work? There are many factors, but the most resonant one is Dualities.

Colin Fanning 11/13/22 Colin Fanning 11/13/22

Rhythms of Nature: The Art and Design of DRIFT

The 2022 Collab Design Excellence Award honors DRIFT, the Amsterdam-based studio co-founded in 2007 by Lonneke Gordijn (b. 1980) and Ralph Nauta (b. 1978). DRIFT is a multidisciplinary practice that freely bridges the categories of art and design.

Royce Epstein 11/13/22 Royce Epstein 11/13/22

Collab: Collecting Design

Through the lens of collecting design, Collab’s programming contributes to the design legacy of Philadelphia and beyond. Our collection is one of the largest and most important holdings of any encyclopedic museum in the world.

Philadelphia Art Museum 2/17/22 Philadelphia Art Museum 2/17/22

Circus: Bouroullec Designs

Explore the work of brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, leading figures in contemporary industrial design and recipients of the 2021 Collab Design Excellence Award.