Italian Design Day in the World is an integrated promotional project launched in 2017 by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in collaboration with and with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism.
IDD includes a rich schedule of events created by the network of Embassies, Consulates, Italian Cultural Institutes and ICE Offices abroad. It has been, over the years, an effective tool in supporting the promotion of design and the internationalization of an industrial sector that is strategic for Italy’s export.
The theme of Italian Design Day 2020 is “Designing the Future. Development, Innovation, Sustainability, Beauty”. It is linked strongly to the proactive ability of Italian design and the broader Made in Italy system, to hypothesize ever new development scenarios, capable of overcoming self-referential rhetoric and maintaining the improvement of life and the protection of the planet at the core of the proposals. An even more topical issue in the context of the health emergency being experienced by all.
PRESENTED BY THE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI CULTURA TORONTO:
Questioning the Standards. When Nature Plays Its Majesty
Zoom Webinar
with
Marco Sammicheli
Chief Officer, International Relations
Triennale Milano
and
Maria Cristina Didero | Design Curator
Francesca Molteni | Film Director
Thursday, November 5 | 1:00PM EST
Can we establish a new dialogue with nature through a subtle narrative constructed with objects? Is design a tool to create an unexpected relationship between humans and the environment?
Marco Sammicheli, together with Maria Cristina Didero and Francesca Molteni, explores the topic starting from the virtual exhibition Majesty. Illusion between Canada and Italy.
MARCO SAMMICHELI
Marco Sammicheli is an independent and design professional. He works as the Chief Officer of International Relations at the Triennale Milano. After graduating in Communication Science from the University of Siena and specializing in History of Design at the Bauhaus in Weimar, in 2009, he earned a doctorate in design and technology for the development of cultural heritage at the Politecnico di Milano and at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. He wrote monographs on designers such as Zaha Hadid, Mario Bellini, Steven Holl, Bruno Munari and he curated shows and essays on catalogs for cultural institutions, museums and private galleries in Europe and the Middle East. He contributed to several magazines, including Abitare, Vogue Paris, Port, Octogon, Icon design. He’s currently serving as Italian correspondent of Wallpaper* and he’s columnist for La Domenica – Il Sole 24 Ore. He’s contract professor at Politecnico di Milano School of Design and visiting lecturer at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Tel Aviv. His ongoing research project Designing the sacred has been exhibited during the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2014 and his publication Disegnare il sacro (Rubbettino, 2016) has been acquired by the Vatican Museums library in 2017. He’s part of the advisory committee of Collezione Paolo VI in Brescia and Fondazione Cirulli in Bologna where he oversees the design collection.
MARIA CRISTINA DIDERO
Maria Cristina Didero is an independent design curator and freelance journalist, based in Milan and working internationally. She contributes regularly to various magazines such as Domus and Vogue Italia, and her column “L’Ascensore” is featured in IconDesign. Didero has collaborated with a number of institutions both in Italy and abroad, curating exhibitions worldwide and editing related catalogues. Among the most recent ARE AL(L): Projects with Aluminum by Michael Young at Grand Hornu for Stichting Kunstboek, and The Space in Between, Nendo’s exhibition at Holon Design Museum, Tel Aviv. In 2015, she published The Merchant Of Clouds (Skira) with Franco Audrito of Studio65 for the related show at the GAM, in Turin. She wrote the introductory text to 1968, a book by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari. Didero has published and contributed to several books, including The System of Objects at DESTE Foundation, co-curated with Andreas Angelidakis, Keep Your Seat at GAM in Turin with Danilo Eccher (Electa), and Michele De Lucchi (Corraini) with illustrations by New York-based illustrator Steven Guarnaccia.
FRANCESCA MOLTENI
Francesca Molteni graduated from the University of Milan with a degree in Philosophy, and studied Film Production at New York University. She has been active in producing and directing documentaries, television formats, videos, and curating design exhibitions since 2002. In 2009, Molteni set up the MUSE Factory of Projects, a production company based in Milan. In 2016, she documented the US election in La Casa Bianca [The White House], a TV program for RAI3.
Molteni is a regular contributor to Vogue and Casa Vogue Italy, GQ, Elle Decor, IlSole24Ore, as well as the author of the book Oggetti d’impresa [Objects of Enterprise], Carocci, 2016. In 2017, together with Maria Cristina Didero, she curated SuperDesign, a film about Italian Radical Design promoted by R&Company Gallery and produced by MUSE.
Molteni’s accomplishments have been widely recognized with a number of prizes, including the Award for Innovation bestowed by the President of the Italian Republic (2102), and the Compasso d’Oro honorable mention (2012), the Cathay Pacific Award for women entrepreneurs (2013), and the PIDA DesignPrize for the “Dove vivono gli architetti” exhibition, curated with Davide Pizzigoni for the Milan Salone del Mobile (2014).