"The project started from the decision of a newspaper and a fashion house that share a common sense of the present and face every day with great professionalism the changes of contemporary culture in architecture, design, art and social habits"
Fuorisalone does not only mean events and presentations, cocktails and meetings. Over the last few years we have witnessed a steady growth in the offer of occasions for thinking and discovery, going from meetings with designers to real seminars, often enriched by exhibitions and installations able to broaden the event’s horizons without just focusing on new products. The aim is always to spread the culture of design in its many shapes, dealing with art, music, culture, but also fashion and architecture. With the support of Jil Sander and Abitare, Marco Sammicheli is curator of a series of events promising to be a rare opportunity to analyse in depth the most unexplored and transversal aspects of the world of design. We asked some questions to Marco who will guide us to discover “The Year of Design 2016-2017”, that during the design week will enliven the Jil Sander headquarters located in via Beltrami 5. And of course we couldn’t miss the opportunity to ask him his opinion about the Fuorisalone.
What does the Fuorisalone mean for you?
I think it’s one of the Fs of Made in Italy. After furniture, fashion and food… Fuorisalone includes almost all the creative engines of our country because it adds to the other Fs new elements and values like hospitality, community, city, monuments, museums music and many drinks.
And what does it mean for Milan?
It’s a celebration of the identity of Milan and of its work ethic. The energy of the Fuorisalone is an essential ingredient to set the next stages of the city’s international development.
Do you think the Milan Design Week is just a series of business events or does it also play an important cultural role?
The Milan Design Week is for the world design culture what the opening night of La Scala is for the Opera and for classical music.
Salone or Fuorisalone?
Salone and Fuorisalone. The Salone was created by the masters of Italian industrial design. The word Fuorisalone was coined by Abitare in the 1980s. The former is nurtured by the imaginary that the latter is able to build season after season. The latter lives thanks to the success of the former.
How did the project with Jil Sander start?
The project started from the decision of a newspaper and a fashion house that share a common sense of the present and face every day with great professionalism the changes of contemporary culture in architecture, design, art and social habits. Jil Sander and Abitare know and tell about the importance of heritage, roots, essentiality of the creative process. “The Year of Design 2016-2017” – this is the title of a project that is a forum, a downloadable newspaper and a digital campaign, #theyearofdesign. It will last four days (11th -14th April) and it will be dedicated to the key role of design in reading reality, interpreting its changes and finding solutions. We will carry out the project in the 10 biennale and triennale museums that put it at the centre of their exhibitions: Venice, London, Istanbul, Lubjiana, Kortrijk, Luxembourg, Saint Etienne, Milan, Oslo and New York. A big installation of videos and projections designed by Paolo Giacomazzi will stage the special edition of Abitare Instant dedicated to The Year of Design 2016-2017. During the breakfast and cocktail hours a series of talks and performances will involve some of the key players of the international debate.
What participants and topics will you focus on more?
Curators, designers, architects and the editorial staff of Abitare. Special attention will be given to Istanbul, Venice and London to develop an itinerary crossing Europe and the Mediterranean sea. All this will happen in via Beltrami, Milan during the Salone and the XXI edition of the Triennale.
Pic credits © Giulia Virgara
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