Gallery ILÉ is pleased to share that the work entitled AYITI, by critically acclaimed photographer and PhD researcher, Nicola Lo Calzo, is now on view in the exhibition Designing the Nation State, currently taking centre stage at Design Museum in Den Bosch, Netherlands. 

The exhibition examines for the first time the relationship between design and the nation state. What is a state, who has the right to found a state, and which designs are required in this process? How does something become a national symbol, and who gets to decide?

Despite its rigid reputation, national identity proves to be malleable and changeable. National symbols lay claim to eternity, yet they are nevertheless subject to debate anew in every generation. To this very day, nationalism is a driving factor in bloody wars of conquest and democratic movements for equal rights. 

With flags, models, costumes, photographs and maps from dozens of different countries, Designing the Nation State explores how design shapes national identity and collective imagination, examining the symbols, narratives, and visual languages through which nations are constructed and understood.

The show presents for the first time a comparative design history of the nation state – the most important invention of modern times.

The exhibition is curated by Tomas van den Heuvel, based on a concept by Yassine Salihine, with design created by Maaike Anne Stevens and Studio Ilona Laurijsse, and campaign image courtesy of by Lesley Moore.

On view through September 20, 2026

For further information and to plan your visit, click HERE