From Micro to Macro: Italian designers in South China
The Italian Pavilion: Possibilities of Design
Can a spoon and a city have something in common?
Italy will be the Country of Honor during the 2nd edition of the Shenzhen Design Week (SZDW). Sponsored by the Municipality of Shenzhen, the SZDW, due to thematic breadth and quality of the submitted projects, is considered one of the most important events organized in China in the field of design.
The Italian participation will develop throughout the Week with seminars and workshops, and it will take the form of a Pavilion, especially designed by the members of an Association based in Shenzhen – Italian Designers Association (IDA) – and curated by the Department of Architecture and Design of Turin Polytechnic. The event is promoted by the Consulate General of Italy in Guangzhou, and supported by Shenzhen City of Design Promotion Association, in partnership with NABA-New Academy of Fine Arts, Domus Academy, with the sponsorship of Taramelli Group.
The Italian Pavilion will be hosted in Sea World Culture and Arts Center / Design Society Shenzhen UCCN (UNESCO Creative Cities Network) Exchange Center. The national installation, called “From Micro to Macro: Italian Designers in South China”, will remain open from April 20th to May 4th, and it will showcase the work of young Italian professionals based in the Pearl River Delta. The focus will be on the projects of the members of Italian Designers Association (IDA) and the ‘South China- Turin Collaboration Lab’, born from the cooperation of Turin Polytechnic with the prestigious South China University of Technology (SCUT).
The Ambassador of Italy in China, HE Ettore Sequi, will inaugurate the Shenzhen Design Week on April 20th, during a visit to Southern China. Representatives of the Municipality of Turin, twin city with Shenzhen, will also be present at the opening ceremony.
The “Italian Day” on 22 April will be one of the most important moments of the Shenzhen Design Week. The Day will be an opportunity for a discussion on the themes of design and sustainable development between Italian and Chinese professionals, through meetings and seminars that will then animate the Pavilion throughout the week. The Italian Day will introduce to the Chinese public the themes of the multidisciplinarity of Italian design skills that, in the Pearl River Delta, translate into the ability to firstly manage the entire project cycle, and not just the product, then in the “sustainability” as a minimum common denominator of every initiative, and finally in a constant reference to the tradition of trade between the Mediterranean and the Far East along the Silk Road.
The ideal closing of the Week will be contributed by a Day organized by NABA – New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, focused on an interactive presentation called “Design in the Air”, and on the “Milano Souvenir” project set up in the Pavilion spaces.
WHERE: Design Society- Sea World Culture and Arts Center, 1187 Wanghai Road, Shekou, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China
OPENING HOURS: Sunday to Thursday 10.00 to 20.30 – Friday and Saturday 10.00-21.30
