On the occasion of the Italian Design Day (9 March 2023), an event promoted annually by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation with the support of the Ministry of Culture and in collaboration with ITA, Agency for the promotion abroad and the internationalization of companies, Italian institutions in Lebanon are organizing a series of initiatives on the creative and industrial excellence of Italian design from Wednesday 8 to Wednesday 15 March 2023.
The theme of the 2023 edition, “Design energy for people and the environment. the quality that illuminates”, is aimed at promoting international participation in the 61st edition of the Milan Furniture Fair, scheduled from 18 to 23 April 2023, alongside with Euroluce 2023, an event dedicated to lighting design and lighting technology, which will return after a four-year break due to the pandemic. The 2023 edition brings together different facets of the sector, from quality as a connector along the entire Italian design supply chain, to energy as an element at the base of the production process, from sustainability and respect for the environment, to people as a pillar around which innovative ideas are developed and conceived to combine functionality and well-being. Key principles around which Rome’s candidacy to host the 2030 Universal Exposition also develops.
The rich program hosts various events and initiatives aimed at a wide public: people from the sector, designers and professionals, universities and students.
A round table for representatives of the sector, key opinion leaders (KOL) and architects at La Galerie Semaan will open the exhibition on Wednesday 8 March and will see the participation of the Italian architect and designer Paolo Zani, as a special guest. He will be accompanied in the conversation by the Director of ITA Beirut, Claudio Pasqualucci, and by Lebanese designers, Karen Chekerdjian and Karim Bekdache.
A tour of the Galerie Semaan will follow to retrace Italian design from the 1930s to today.
Events will continue on 9 and 10 March at the cultural space of Rebirth Beirut, in Gemmazye, with a photographic exhibition of iconic objects dedicated to Italian design and open to the public. The inauguration will take place in the presence of the Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Nicoletta Bombardiere and of ITA Director in Beirut Claudio Pasqualucci. An intervention by Italian Architect Paolo Zani is also scheduled.
The exhibition includes a selection of Italian design objects and furnishing accessories, linked by the common thread of quality, usability and sustainability, immersive and interactive presentations created thanks to artificial intelligence and the photographic exhibition “Light on Made in Italy”, created by “INTERNI – The Magazine of Interiors and Contemporary Design” promoted by the Italian Cultural Institute. The works tell the story of the great Italian artisan tradition and quality, highlighting the experiences of companies and designers.
The “Light on MADE IN ITALY” exhibition will remain open to visitors at Rebirth Beirut until Wednesday 15 March 2023.
The objects will be exhibited on March 9 and 10 thanks to the generous contribution of Ad Home Collection, Baroody Group, Colombini Casa of Société Georges Matta, Debbane Freres, Debbas, Design Lounge, Farra Design Center, Intermeuble/Alessi, Le Cercle Hitti, Nicolas Bou Khater , Perspective Tessuti, Sarkis Lteif & Sons Sal, Talge Luminaire and Vresso, and with the collaboration of Lebanese friends of Italy such as Mario Haddad and Raphael Debbane.
Finally, the Italian designer Paolo Zani will meet the students of three important Lebanese universities (ALBA, Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, Université Libanaise, USEK) for a series of masterclasses on the theme of this year’s exhibition. On these occasions, a documentary “The importance of being an architect” will be screened. The docufilm produced in 2021 by Giorgio Ferrero and Federico Biasin and presented at the opening of the Milano design Film festival 2021, will be displayed at Rebirth Beirut on 13 March 2023 in a format open to the public.
