China-Italy Design e Innovation Center, Markor Home Furnishings, Milano Makers, Hunan University, Sichuan Fine Arts Institute / SHARING DESIGN: UTOPIA OF CULTURE MAKERS

Organized by China-Italy Design and Innovation Center (CIDIC), Markor Furnishings, in collaboration with the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute e Hunan University. Ceramics

“Sharing Design: Utopia of Culture Makers” is the name of the exhibition organized by China-Italy Design and Innovation Center, Markor Home Furnishings, Milano Makers, and co-organized by Hunan University and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, on show at Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan from April 14 to May 7, 2015.

Divided into three sections linked by the overall theme of collaborative intercultural and multidisciplinary work, the exhibition will display and recreate various regional cultures and lifestyles, share the experience of culture makers’ production means, business models and their cultural creativity continuing the historical trend of human ingenuity.

Section 1. Culture Coding: New Channel Design and Social Innovation Cross-Media Design Exhibition

One section of the exhibition will display products from a design and social innovation program, New Channel, and it will use cross-media tools including videos, audios, products and interactive installations to elaborate the culture and life style of different ethnic groups in China. This project results from four summer camps conducted by the School of Design at Hunan University, with the support of Markor Home Furnishings’ “Art • Home” Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program starting from 2009. Each summer, the teachers and students lived with the local people for a month, filming documentaries, recording folk music, and designing cultural products in order to discover the specific cultural “code” of different ethnic groups and seek new interpretation of culture, tradition and craftsmanship. The project aims to support those regions’ sustainable development in the areas of nature, society, economy and culture and to raise awareness about the cultural heritage protection in China. The audience can walk among the design works and have a close-in experience of different ethnic designs and cultures.

Section 2. Culture Making: International Culture Makers’ Joint Design Exhibition

The second section gathers independent designers displaying projects related to “culture making”. Designers from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute created and re-designed Chinese traditional foodrelated articles and utensils in accordance with the theme of the 2015 Milan Expo. Works of renowned Chinese designers including Mr. Yang Mingjie and Mr. Zhang Jun will be on display, providing thought-provoking new craft interpretation by underlining what is the concept of contemporary “culture making”.

Further exhibits from British universities including the Royal College of Art, Queen Mary University of London, St. Martins College of Arts and Design, and the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design, from South Korean universities including Hongik, Sangmyung, and JungAng Universities, featuring “New Smart Living”, demonstrate how, throughout all cultures, technology is used to interpret culture, lifestyle, and environment.

Section 3. Culture Driven: DesignEngine Innovation and Design Workshop

The third section showcases a selection of achievements of the China-Italy Design and Innovation Center (CIDIC) during the past three years as well as some award-winning works from the past four “LotusPrize” (www.LotusPrize.com) International Industrial Design Competitions. The culmination of work by CIDIC shows the culture-driven innovation in China and with the governmental support, China will forge more cooperative relations with other countries on cultural design. 

Concurrently with the exhibition, the Association of Culture Makers under the DesignEngine, an international design promotion network platform, will be launched in order to provide more international exchange opportunities for young designers all over the world.

Please visit our website at www.nchannel.cc

China-Italy Design and Innovation Center 
China-Italy Design and Innovation Center was jointly built by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and Italian Ministry of Public Administration and Innovation (now belongs to Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research) in November 2010.

Six signing parties, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, Tongji University, Hunan Industrial Design Association, Italian Innovation Promotion Agency, Italian Value Foundation and Italian Association for Industrial Design came together to improve the cooperation of the economy, technology and culture between China and Italy and to enhance the role of design in building an innovative country and setting up a high-end intergovernmental cooperative center and platform of design and innovation with a national reach.

Being the exclusive partner of Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A, CIDIC works as a bridge connecting Italian design with the Chinese companies and organizations, as well as introducing foreign talents to China.

Markor International Home Furnishings Co., Ltd
Markor International Home Furnishings Co., Ltd., is principally engaged in the production and sale of furniture and home improvement products. Markor distributes its products in domestic markets and to overseas markets. It operates chain stores to sell its products in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Suzhou and others.

Deeply rooted in art and with the objective of creating a better life, Markor Home Furnishings initiated a Corporate Social Responsibility program called “Art • Home” in June, 2009 to fund art programs in order to help with the social innovation development.