Joseph Grima
Courtesy Design Academy Eindhoven Joseph Grima

The Design Academy Eindhoven has selected Joseph Grima as its next creative director and executive board chair. Grima will start on Sept. 1.

The academy's Supervisory Board began looking for a replacement in November following Thomas Widdershoven's exit on Oct. 15, 2016. Dezeen reported the news of Grima's appointment in June, but the academy formally announced the appointment late last week.

"Despite the extraordinary proliferation of design schools in recent years, there is still an acute shortage of places that actually question what design is," Grima said in a press release. "Design Academy Eindhoven isn’t a school where students simply learn design—they design design, and each day rethink the parameters through which it shapes society."

Grima comes to the school with an extensive background in design. He was co-artistic director with Sarah Herda for the first Chicago Architecture Biennial, and formerly worked as editor of Domus and the director of the Storefront for Art and Architecture. He's also a co-founder of Space Caviar, a studio based in Genova, Italy.