Zetteler’s ones to watch in the year ahead

Joseph Henry – urban space man
Unfailingly impressive as a thinker, event host and human, Joseph is a designer and urbanist using his powers to improve the world. As a public servant within the Greater London Authority, Joseph is committed to delivering a progressive model of urban development that addresses expanding populations while benefiting communities, society at large and the environment. This drive also inspires his work as co-host of Sound Advice (alongside Pooja Agrawal), the brilliant campaigning platform exploring and addressing spatial inequality in the built environment – through a head-popping cocktail of polemic and music. Somewhat surprisingly, he is also a board director at the Russell Maliphant Dance Company.

Julia Jomaa – smooth operator
If you’ve admired one of Studio Walala’s massive urban artworks or landmark installations over the years then you should know that it’s not just Camille’s creative genius you’re appreciating – it’s also Julia’s artistic and operational expertise. An integral part of Camille’s life and work since they met during the creation of the breakthrough Dream Come True building in Shoreditch in 2015, former set designer Julia is now the co-director of Studio Walala, taking charge of the project-management and delivery of their commissions around the world. As their neighbours, we get to see Julia at work all the time, and she is a genuine daily inspiration. Now, her talent for understanding how the tiniest details work together with shaping the big picture is extending into a new project, bringing together art, design and community with Julia’s exceptional skills as a cook, fermenter, forager and host. We’re excited.

Lara Kinneir – inter-sector connector
The work of design strategist Lara Kinneir is rooted in the understanding that connections and relationships between diverse stakeholders, from all levels of society, are essential to design interventions that improve life for people and planet. Her career has seen her slip smoothly between sectors, stepping from architecture and urban design to local government, academia and charity, bringing with her the capacity of design thinking to make positive change. Recently, she co-founded the interdisciplinary design office KINN, which works across industries to identify opportunities for positive change. Alongside, she serves as director of LSA Lab at the London School of Architecture, where she focuses on experimentation, analysis and innovation in education and across the industry. In short, if you’re interested in the power of interdisciplinary conversations and cross-sector relationships, Lara’s the first person you call.

Kwangho Lee – material innovator
The only person on this list we haven’t actually met in person (and we hope to change that asap), Kwangho Lee is an artist and designer based in Seoul. In the 15 years since he graduated with a degree in metal art and design from Hongik University, he has become one of the leading makers in South Korea, renowned for his unusual material choices (found objects, polystyrene, knitted plastic, etc) and inventive approach. We first spotted his work on Instagram through the curatorial platform sayhito_, then had the pleasure of working alongside him with the launch of Vaarnii earlier this year, for whom he designed the beautifully geometric AA Bench in pine. The bench typifies Lee’s fascination with joints and connections between materials, which is what keeps his practice evolving and ensures he always has something interesting up his sleeve.

Tom Lindow – artist inventor
Some people are eager to thrust themselves into the limelight; others quietly get on with the business of being a genius. Tom’s one of the latter. An artist and fabricator with a passion for materiality, Tom began his career in Scotland working in theatre and TV as a model maker before moving to London, where he brought his artistic expertise to Damien Hirst’s studio, Science, alongside Jake & Dinos Chapman and Paul Fryer. In the years since, he has carved out a reputation as a consummate problem-solver – the person you go to when you hit a seemingly insurmountable practical challenge. This gift for thinking around corners is what led Tom to invent NewBond – an aluminium-based surface material offering artists the distinctive beauty and tactility of paper combined with the permanence and durability of canvas – an archive-quality medium that elevates typically fragile artworks on paper to a gallery-ready standard. NewBond has already been embraced by a host of artists, including Idris Khan and Hugo Wilson, and Tom has plans to expand its possibilities further still in 2022, so watch this space.

Jonah Luswata – architectural designer and artist
In September, Ugandan designer Jonah Luswata unveiled his ingenious and beautiful reinterpretation of a Victorian moonlight tower for BromptonDesign District – one of AHEC’s Designposts for LDF. Working on the project, we got to witness Jonah’s sheer drive and enthusiasm first hand. He has worked at Peter Barber Architects since 2016; was named one of RIBA’s next generation of Black architects in 2018; has worked on socially and environmentally minded buildings in both the UK and Uganda; and has just launched his own series of sculptures inspired by traditional African pottery. We can’t wait to see what he does next…

Bisila Noha – maker, manager, activist
Bisila is what happens when you get talent and integrity in perfect balance. Based in London, the Spanish ceramic artist is not only a brilliant craft talent, she’s also a powerful force for positive change. Bisila is a co-director of arts and activism organisation Lon-art Creative, a collaborative platform for the exploration of social issues through arts; the project manager behind London’s newly opened pop-up LGBTQ+ community centre; AND the part time project manager for Design Can (and its only paid employee) – which means we get the joy of working with her every week. Through her artwork, Bisila challenges capitalist value systems and Western assumptions about art and craft – check out her sublime sculptural pieces at Body Vessel Clay exhibition at Two Temple Place, which opens on 29 January. Bisila will also show her work with Thrown Gallery in February at Collect.

Danielle Pender – woman wonder
We’ve been fans of Riposte – the smart, independent women’s print mag and online platform – since the first issue, which means we’ve also been fans of its editor, the altogether brilliant writer and speaker Danielle Pender for years. As well as the magazine (which, although it sits under the ‘women’s interest’ label, is an essential read by anyone), Danielle runs the Riposte Studio, which handles creative collaborations with major brands. Although 2020 put a spanner in the Riposte machine, Danielle continued to push forward, curating the English culture exhibition England Your England at Coal Drops Yard in September 2021; reviving Riposte for issue #13 (out now), and writing her first book of short stories. Watching Women & Girls will be published by HarperCollins in May 2022, and you will have to fight us to the front of the queue.

Wei Prior – graphic content
We first encountered Wei Prior as one of the design trio Not Flat 3 – architects of Design Can’s graphic identity. Despite graduating only in 2018, the artist, graphic designer and writer has accomplished a phenomenal amount – including three seasons of visual campaigns for Paul Smith as well as projects with the likes of Puma, Kali Uchis and FKA Twigs. Today, he’s the director of his own studio, ChaChaanTeng, where he helms a team of five designers working on anything from animation and branding to photography and web design, while being sure to make time for pro bono work and self-initiated projects. Central to Wei’s practice is a belief in design as a tool to build communities – and we cannot wait to see the new and imaginative ways he’ll bring that belief to life in the coming year.