Looking to the future, with an eye on the past: the forthcoming Varese Design Week 2019

The theme of the fourth Varese Design Week, from 5 – 9 April, is “Past to Future, there is no future without the past“. The event will have one eye on the past, on the culture of doing and on the experience acquired over the years, and the other eye on the future, new technologies and research.

This year, the event is also being extended to new places in town, the common denominator of which is the past and the future; in addition to the town centre, the premises of the company Rossi Italia Design, in Masnago, and Location Camponovo on Sacro Monte, in particular, are involved: Location Camponovo was also the place where the preview was presented.

The presentation was given by the “four iron ladies”, who took control of Varese Design Week, with Nicoletta Romano in the leadership position joined by Silvia Giacometti, Silvana Barbato and Laura Sangiorgi. The “ladies” are assisted by the festival’s new artistic director, Paolo Martinelli, from Gallarate, and the “organiser” of Location Camponovo, Paola Frascaroli.

NUMEROUS EVENTS PRESENTED DURING THE PREVIEW

The focus this year is the re-evaluation of the many forgotten talents that Varese has seen rise and the discovery of new ones, which are now in the international limelight, such as the company Moroni Gomme, who are celebrating 100 years since their foundation at the Ghiggini Gallery. Robotics and artificial intelligence will be the guiding themes in meetings and sensory experiences, but not only. Varese Design Week 2019 will host a robot that can hold a dialogue and will amaze the general public by taking part in a new, live performance.

The infopoint, in Piazza Monte Grappa, will be the operating base and meeting point for the public. Thanks to the collaboration with the company Monti & Russo, you will be able to immerse yourself in virtual reality, to visit the exhibition sites of the event and some monuments of artistic and cultural interest in Varese, which are not normally accessible to the public.

There are a number of important venues this year: Location Camponovo, which is located on Sacro Monte in Varese, a UNESCO Heritage Site, in what were the galleries that appeared in the year 400. And in the very bowels of the earth, during the press conference, we took part in the installation “A new Shape”, by the artist Alessio Ceruti, two of the three that he is presenting during VDW2019.

Rossi Italian Design is a creative laboratory located in the area behind the stadium, who, in a new Concept Home, will be presenting the evolution of table design over time, from the iconic pieces by the designer from Gallarate, Ambrogio Pozzi, to the modern day, represented by commonly used objects, that have a great aesthetic impact, that are made with sustainable materials and are environmentally friendly.

The English Language Centre School, in Viale Milano, is hosting workshops on topic with the Design Week, “Past To Future”, thanks to the direction of Massimo Colli, Educational Counsellor for NABA (the New Academy of Fine Arts) in Milan, and the involvement of a number of designers and teachers who will be tackling topics such as design, the fashion designer, media design, the visual arts. Each course will be limited to 35 participants.

In collaboration with Giulio Rossini, as part of “Sguardi sull’Arte” (“Views of Art”), the film “Non abbiamo sete di scenografie. La lunga storia della Chiesa di Alvar Aalto a Riola”, by Mara Corradi and Roberto Ronchi, will be shown, at the Cinema Nuovo in Varese, where works by designers who took part in the VDW2018 will be exhibited.

This year too, the collaboration is continuing with the Frattini Art High School, in synergy with the Civic Library and the Manzoni High School, with the project of school/work alternation, “Racconti di design” (“Tales of design”). It starts from the roots of design, from the search for and reading of poems that speak about our design in the golden age, to the creation of personal texts on the topic, up to a performance; the students are being followed by the teachers Antonelli and Minidio, the most significant contributions will be filmed and made into a video for virtual reality, with the support of Ms Leone. With the help of their teachers, led by Ms Lotti, the students from the language high school, will also translate some texts and read them during the final meeting, which will be in the library, in June.

THE TORSELLINI INSTALLATIONS RETURN

After the glass pyramid, in the Giardini Estense, and the Glass Emotion Bridge, in Piazza Podestà, the emotional installations by Roberto Torsellini, are returning.

This year, Torsellini, the company from Gavirate that was involved in the previous Design Weeks, and that is reaching out to the world, is setting up an emotional installation, specifically for the Varese Design Week.

Of course, the nature of the installation has not yet been revealed; we can only hope for some more indications at the official presentation, on 21 March.

VARESE DESIGN WEEK INCLUDED IN THE NETWORK OF ITALIAN DESIGN WEEKS

It is worth noting that, from this year, the VDW will be part of the national Network of Design Weeks, which, to date, includes those of Venice, Florence, Palermo, Udine and Matera; this acknowledgement places it in the official circuit of national design events.

This synergy was immediately met by the enthusiasm and willingness to listen on the part of the Minister of Culture, who was met in Palazzo Litta last January.