A rich program of events throughout the United States on Italian design and creativity.
The sixth edition of “Italian Design Day” (IDD) kicked off yesterday in the USA. The program is part of a global initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to promote Italian design and creativity, as well as its production system, around the world. In the United States, the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C. has the lead on the initiative and, together with the network of Consulates, Italian Cultural Institutes and Trade Offices in the USA, will present over a dozen events throughout the country during the week of March 23, which marks Design Day.
“Re-Generation. Design and new technologies for a sustainable future” is the theme chosen this year. Its goal is to emphasize our design’s ability to renew itself and its production processes, and the continuous qualitative research on materials in the name of circularity and sustainability, both of which are strategic pillars in Italy’s economic post pandemic revival. IDD also acts as a launching pad to promote the upcoming 60th edition of the Salone del Mobile in Milan (June 7-12), and Rome’s candidacy to host the 2030 Universal Exposition.
Many Italian design spokespersons, architects and experts of international renown will take part in this US event, which highlights Italy-US cooperation in all design-related sectors, including sustainability, art and culture, research, innovation and technology.
“Although it takes place in the dramatic context of the war triggered by the brutal and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine, this Italian Design Day offers us the opportunity to enhance the pivotal role that design and creativity plays in relations between Italy and the United States, both in trade and culture as well as in cooperation in the fields of technological innovation and research,” noted the Italian Ambassador, Mariangela Zappia, in her opening remarks. “Design is a field in which Italian excellence is internationally recognized and which makes us world leaders in many productive sectors,” continued the Ambassador.
Design is among the catalysts of Italy-US investments and of our trade exchange, which last year topped 94 billion dollars, up by almost 20% compared to 2020.
Ambassador Zappia opened the program yesterday, with the “Italian Design Day and the Magic of Murano” event at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in Washington, featuring the exhibition “Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano” on the art of glassmaking on the island.
On the Italian Design Day itself, March 23, the main event of the US program will take place. Co-organized in New York by the Italian Embassy and the ICE-Italian Trade Promotion Agency (which promotes the internationalization of Italian companies), it centers on “RE-GENERATION. Design and new technologies for a sustainable future”. The event, moderated by Stefania Spatti of Class CNBC, will be opened by Ambassador Zappia, the Director of ICE New York, Antonino Laspina, Hank Foley, President of the New York Institute of Technology and Maria Perbellini, Dean of the School of Architecture and Design, New York Institute of Technology. Among the speakers are Paola Navone, “Design Ambassador” 2022 for Washington D.C. and Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Furthermore, scheduled Business Talks will include: Daniele Brusca, VP Creative Brand Director Scavolini; Andres Escobar, Principal Designer Lemay+Escobar New York; Simona Gazzaniga, Head of Marketing Poliform USA; Rocco Giannetto, Managing Director Gensler New York; Jacqueline Terrebonne, Editor in Chief Galerie Magazine.
The program in the USA includes events throughout the country. From Chicago, to New York, from Houston to Los Angeles, from Miami to San Francisco and Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. events will focus on Regeneration, sustainability, ethics and aesthetics, the role of women in the field, trade – and beyond.
