Opening on Friday, 17 March, 6 p. m., Kvadrat 500, Panoramic Hall on the 6th Floor.
The Embassy of Italy in Sofia, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Trade Agency jointly present, with the National Gallery, the travelling exhibition of sustainable Italian design focused on the recycling and reuse of resources.
The initiative is part of the 2023 Italian Design Day—a series of events organised by Italy’s diplomatic corps around the world. The event aims to achieve a widespread resonance beyond the country’s borders through presenting the artistic and cultural heritage of Italy, the result of the fine and harmonious fusion of history, culture, art and craftsmanship of the highest level. The theme chosen this year is: ‘The quality that illuminates. The energy of design for people and the environment.’
The exhibition is a symbolic expression of the Italian genius: bearer of intuition, original ideas, ancient knowledge, culture and experimentation, love of the beautiful and deft craft proficiency. It introduces us to the new worldwide trends in Italian design, showcasing them at the International Furniture Salon in Milan.
The exposition provides a synthetic but fully representative overview of the new paradigm of Italian design with its growing focus on environmental sustainability. The objects, products and accessories on display are either recycled materials or the result of the application of sustainable technologies. The projects are created by Italian designers, while the production is entirely the work of Italian companies.
‘Ensuring that waste is re-converted to raw material.
‘Placing recycling and reuse at the basis of a circular economy that can overcome squandering and wasting.
‘Rethinking design and production based not only on environmental sustainability but also on a new sociality based on sharing, responsibility, and respect for future generations.
‘These are some of the suggestive traits of an increasingly marked trend in the latest Italian design that goes by the name of 3CODESIGN, and whose primary objective is to contribute to the creation of a new ecology of the artificial. It is an overall and radical rethinking of a production model of over-exploitation of resources; this means reviewing all stages of design and production, starting to think, from the beginning, of objects and products that become repairable, reconditionable, reusable, shareable, and recyclable. Instead of ending up as landfill, the value of an object must remain in circulation by regenerating itself continuously. The main directions of the new 3CODESIGN, based on the principles of the circular economy, are: Ridurre: Reducing or decreasing of the use and waste of raw materials, as well as limiting their impact on the environment; Riciclare: Recycling used items, beginning with plastic; Riutilizzare: Reusing, i.e., using more than once, providing a second life for objects that have been discarded or seemingly outlived their day.’ Arch. Silvana Annicchiarico, exhibition curator.
On 16 March, at 5:00 p.m., at the Academia Gallery (1, Shipka Street) of the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, Silvana Annicchiarico will open the exhibition with a lecture titled: ‘Italian Design: from Functionality to Sustainability’.
Silvana Annicchiarico lives in Milan, where she works as a researcher, critic and teacher. She is a consultant to public institutions and various companies. Her involvement in editorial and exhibition projects is inspired by contemporary themes, the oeuvres of great masters, as well as new protagonists gaining fame in design. From 2007 to 2018, she was director of the Triennale Design Museum in Milan.
The exhibition, whose graphic design is the work of Arch. Bruno Morello, has been shown in Prague, Doha, Shenzen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Washington, Toronto, Tunis, Pristina, Tallinn, Helsinki, Tripoli, Benghazi and Bucharest.
Confindustria Bulgaria and Edoardo Miroglio Wine Cellar are event partners.
