"How can design overcome inequalities and look towards new possibilities, both in the present and in the future?" This is the question that permeates the exhibition 'Design versus Desigualidades: designing a better world', the first exhibition on the calendar of the ItaliaNoRio Cultural Hub in 2025, will be open to the public from today, 16 April, until 14 June.
Curated by Alexandre Rese and Carol Baltar, both from the European Institute of Design (IED Rio), the pieces were selected by the Campana Institute and designers Franz Cerami, Bernardo Senna, Débora Oigman, Flávia Souza, Giácomo Tomazzi, Giorgio Bonaguro, Gustavo Bittencourt, Jorge Lopes, Júlio Augusto da Silva, Karol Suguikawa, Marco Zanini, Marcos Bravo, Marcos Husky, Maria O'Connor, Paulo Goldstein, Pedro Galaso, Philipe Fonseca, Rafo Castro, Ricardo Graham, Sofia Gama, Pedro Leal, Thiago Antonelli and Thélvyo Veiga, Thiago José Barros and Zanini de Zanine.
The ItaliaNoRio Cultural Hub is an initiative of the Consulate General of Italy in Rio, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) and the European Institute of Design (IED) of Rio: "We believe that design can be a powerful tool to improve the quality of life and address the challenges of inequality in its various forms. It is with great enthusiasm that the Consulate General of Italy in Rio de Janeiro, the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) and the European Institute of Design (IED Rio) are honoured to present this exhibition,' said the Consul General of Italy, Massimiliano Iacchini.
Although they have different purposes, all the creations reflect their time, celebrate diversity, innovation and research, exploring solutions and ideas that encourage the public to learn, experiment and rethink the multidisciplinary role of design. Each creation is an invitation to reflection and action, demonstrating that design is not just aesthetics and functionality, but can be used as a powerful tool for social transformation.
As a link to Italy, the exhibition is part of the Italian Design Day (IDD) 2025 programme, a campaign to promote Italian design and creativity on a global level, promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, whose theme is inspired by the Salone del Mobile in Milan (which takes place from 8 to 13 April this year) and the motto of the Milan Triennale, 'Inequalities: how to mend the fractures of humanity'. The installations on the ground floor of the space are dedicated to the Compasso d'Oro, the most important honour of Italian design, with images of award winners since 2000.
During the two months of the exhibition, the Polo Cultural ItaliaNoRio will host a series of seminars, workshops and meetings on the themes of inequality and the impact of design in its many facets, acting to resolve and reduce conflicts in the contemporary world.
Among the proposals is that of Franze Cerami, a Neapolitan artist who from Bagnoli exports the poetry of his luminous flowers to the peripheries of the world. The inspiration for the 'Lighting flowers' installation, the designer explains, stems from childhood memories, from walks with his grandfather in an area of the Neapolitan city still marked by the bombings of World War II. It is on those battered buildings that Cerami imagined "signs and luminous trails, flowers to transform these areas into gardens". A project also for Brazil.
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