Headmaster of the MA entitled The Critical Inquiry Lab
Saskia van Stein is General and Artistic Director of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR). She was founder and later co-Head of the Critical Inquiry Lab (MA) at Design Academy Eindhoven (2019-2025). Previously, Director of Bureau Europa (2013–2020) and curator at the Netherlands Architecture Institute (2002–2012, now Nieuwe Instituut). Van Stein has curated numerous exhibitions, contributed to international biennales, moderated debates and initiated cultural programs in the Netherlands and abroad.
Her practice explores how cultural production addresses societal urgencies, with a focus on systems thinking, infrastructures of change, and the politics of representation. As a curator, lecturer, moderator, and writer, she emphasizes collaboration and dialogue, fostering connections between local and global initiatives.
She serves on juries and advisory committees including the Dutch Design Awards, Prix de Rome, and OASE, and previously advised the Dutch government on culture and creative industries. Van Stein is also pursuing a PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology on Disney, The Architecture of Staged Realities.
