At Wallpaper* we’ve been following the rise of British-Italian curator, writer, and gallerist Alex Tieghi-Walker with much interest, so the news of his appointment as curator of the 2025 Brompton Design District programme for London Design Festival was a welcome development – and has us looking ahead to September with renewed anticipation.
He steps into the role following the venerable Jane Withers, who shaped and arguably defined the district over her 18-year tenure. Tieghi-Walker – whose New York gallery, TIWA Select, has become a pilgrimage site for design collectors and appreciators – has forged a distinct curatorial voice rooted in material-led, emotionally resonant craft and design. This September, his programme of exhibitions and interventions promises to bring fresh perspectives and renewed energy to the district. Building on Withers’ legacy, Tieghi-Walker will invite new voices, softer sensibilities, and unconventional formats. We caught up with him at his New York gallery to learn more about the thinking behind this year’s theme, ‘A Softer World’.
Alex Tieghi-Walker on why he wants to show the softer side of design at LDF 2025’s Brompton Design District
Curating an entire design district for the first time, Tieghi-Walker wants to provide a platform for a new generation of curators and designers
(Image credit: Photo by Andy Stagg)
Wallpaper*: How did your role as curator of the Brompton Design District come about?
Alex Tieghi-Walker: It all came about because Jane [Withers] decided to move on from the role [after 18 years at the helm]. The team behind Brompton Design District had seen my work at Frieze – the group exhibition I curated in London in 2023 – and was aware of what I’ve been doing with the gallery here in New York.
In particular, they were interested in the way I’ve been talking about design – really looking at the intersection of craft, applied arts, and design. I don’t have any training in art or design. I’m entirely self-taught. This started off as a passion project that evolved into a gallery, and I think that gives me a unique lens that felt appealing for this role.
The New York-based Welsh-Italian curator brings his fascination with craft, applied arts, and design to the fore
(Image credit: Maureen Evans)
W*: What does this year’s theme, ‘A Softer World’, mean to you?
ATW: That theme has been key to my practice. I think design has historically been about making a lot of noise – it’s been hyper-masculine, hyper-designed, very much design with a capital D. You still see that when you go to Milan Design Week or Salone.
I just think there’s another side to design that’s more gentle and slow and considerate. Kind of akin to the slow food movement, where we went from Michelin-starred plates to something more about community and meaning.
‘Craft has this innate feeling of softness, gentleness, and domesticity. That’s something I really wanted to bring into the theme – seeing softness as a strength, not a weakness’
Alex Tieghi-Walker
My approach to design is materials-based. It’s about people working with materials, with their hands, in a crafted sense. Design stems from craft – they’re interconnected, and we can’t separate them. Craft has this innate feeling of softness, gentleness, and domesticity. That’s something I really wanted to bring into the theme – seeing softness as a strength, not a weakness.
Tieghi-Walker has invited New York’s Tione Trice to curate a show that will include the work of London wood artist Darren Appiagyei
(Image credit: Courtesy of Darren Appiagyei)
W*: How are you shaping the programme this year?
ATW: This is the first time I’ve curated anything on a district-wide level. I’m used to curating exhibitions in my small gallery – occasionally off-site – like the salon-style show I did on Cork Street.
I’ve invited different curators to take over different spaces, such as the interior design firm Rooms Studio; the designer Charlotte Taylor, who proposed a show called ‘Soft World, Sharp Edges’; and Tione Trice from vintage store Of the Cloth in New York. He works very closely with Solange Knowles and is bringing in artists such as Nigerian-American designer Myles Igwebuike and Darren Appiagyei, who works in wood and is based in Deptford.
Each of these curators is bringing something very different to the district – and, I think, drawing in different audiences. Charlotte, for example, is showing all female designers. Tione is bringing a diasporic lens rooted in the American South and West Africa.
That’s part of why I wanted to invite other curators in – it expands the cultural touchpoints and brings designers into the fold who weren’t on my radar. Brompton needs more than one perspective. That’s the joy of a design district, not just a gallery.
The work of Nigerian-American designer Myles Igwebuike will also be displayed at Trice’s show
(Image credit: Courtesy of Myles Igwebuike)
W*: You’re using residential and non-traditional spaces across the district. Why?
ATW: The white-box gallery space can be intimidating. Part of my programme is about creating spaces that feel familiar and generous. We’re taking over old buildings – apartments, houses, stores – and giving them to young curators who might not otherwise be able to afford to take part in a design fair.
I’ve tried to do things at Salone and 3 Days of Design, and honestly, it’s just financially constrictive. I can’t afford it. So I thought – what if we use these spaces in a way that makes the district feel more open?
‘This is about bringing people in who maybe thought design was one thing, and showing them it can be something very different’
Alex Tieghi-Walker
People love Open House London – getting to see inside places you don’t normally have access to. There’s a nosiness to it, and I think that can be a gateway to design. At my gallery in New York, which is also my home, I’ve always tried to break down that barrier.
So this is about bringing people in who maybe thought design was one thing, in one kind of setting – and showing them it can be something very different.
Empire House and Dalmeny House, two historic mixed-use buildings, will be opened as part of Brompton Design District.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Brompton Design District)
W*: What kind of energy do you hope to bring to Brompton this year?
ATW: Jane laid a really excellent foundation, so my main challenge is honouring the work of previous years and not taking it too far in a crazy direction. This district has 18 years of practice running pretty smoothly. So it’s about asking: how can I bring my curatorial sensibility into it? How can I bring my version of what design is?
‘I feel like my generation operate differently from traditional galleries. There’s a real focus on community, not just commerce’
Alex Tieghi-Walker
I’m newer to the design world, and I feel like my generation – and my peers here in New York – operate differently from traditional galleries. There’s a real focus on community, not just commerce. There’s a huge ethical standpoint in my practice, and I don’t just mean representation or sustainability. I mean: who’s making the work, who’s taking part in it, what conversations are we having, and how do we think about the longevity of design?
Tieghi-Walker’s gallery TIWA Select has hosted shows for a wide range of established and emerging names, such as British designer Faye Toogood
(Image credit: Photo by Sean Davidson)
W*: You’ve lived in California and New York. What’s it been like coming back to work in London?
ATW: It’s been really fun being on the phone with Brits again! I left London about 11 years ago, and this has been a lovely way to reconnect.
I’m not saying London is scrappier, but I do think the corporate culture in the US slows things down. Things are expensive and restrictive – you often know exactly what your reach is. In London, people are more connected and more willing to share.
It’s much freer and more informal. I don’t know if I would have said this before, but London really does feel more open in comparison.
In 2022, Max Farago of FARAGO and Alex Tieghi-Walker of TIWA Select curated a show in Los Angeles during Frieze that celebrated talents with more unconventional practices and careers
(Image credit: Photo courtesy of TIWA Select)
W*: How did you end up running a gallery?
ATW: If you’d said to me ten years ago that I’d be running a gallery, I’d have thought that was outlandish. But now I think about everything I’ve done – writing, film, photography – it’s all come together in a way that makes sense.
I moved to California after losing a parent and needing a big change. Northern California was a breath of fresh air. It gave me a new relationship to nature, craft, and pace. I was working at a winery, got really into food and community – and that turned into wanting to bring people together around design.
‘It’s not about my voice. I’m curating the neighbourhood, but my job is to invite others in’
Alex Tieghi-Walker
The gallery wasn’t supposed to be a gallery. It was going to be a series of one-off exhibitions centred around meals. Then it was going to be a shop. It kind of snowballed into a gallery by accident.
But even now, food is central. I cook lunch every day at the gallery. Anyone who’s here while lunch is happening gets fed. That’s the spirit of the space – and that’s what I’m trying to bring to Brompton too. It’s not about my voice. I’m curating the neighbourhood, but my job is to invite others in – to let people speak their truth and share their version of design in the world.
Brompton Design District at London Design Festival runs between 13-21 September 2025.
For more information and the full programme here: bromptondesigndistrict.com
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