Prem Krishnamurthy

Prem Krishnamurthy (b. 1977) explores how art & design can be agents of transformation for individuals, communities, and institutions. His multidisciplinary work manifests itself in books, exhibitions, images, performances, publications, systems, talks, texts, and workshops (+ karaoke!). He currently runs Department of Transformation, an artist-organized group that prototypes new modes of togetherness and mutual learning, as well as Wkshps, a multidisciplinary design consultancy.

He received the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Communications Design in 2015 and KW Institute for Contemporary Art’s “A Year With…” residency fellowship in 2018. His professional papers were acquired by Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies in 2019. In 2022, Domain published his book-length epistolary essay, On Letters. In 2024, KW, König Books, and Kunsthal Gent will publish Past Words, an anthology of his writing from 2009–2024.

In addition to leading strategic projects with artists, cultural institutions, and nonprofit organizations across the world, he has curated several large-scale public exhibitions. These include Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows, the 2022 edition of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art; Our Silver City, 2094 at Nottingham Contemporary; and Ministry of Graphic Design in Sharjah, UAE. Previously, Prem founded the design studio Project Projects and the exhibition space P! in New York.