Sharing ideas, points of excellence, projects, uses and innovation of design, exploring cross-fertilisations in design in a continuing dialogue between innovation and tradition spearheaded by the young generation of artists: these are the ingredients of the First Italian Design Day in the city of Minsk, which is one of the 100 capitals around the world selected to host the initiative. The event is part of the Year of Italian Culture in Belarus.
The Ambassador of Italian design in Belarus is Cristina Morozzi: writer, journalist, critic and art director, on the borderline between art, fashion and design. The former historic Editor-in-Chief of the magazine MODO, Cristina Morozzi has long contributed to the interior design magazine INTERNI and teaches at the Ecole Cantonale d’Art of Lausanne and at the Istituto Marangoni of Milan.
Two were the highlights of the programme of the event hosted at the Institute of Management and Social Technologies of the Belarusian State University.
In her lecture “Il Grande Design Italiano: le testimonianze dei maestri” (“Great Italian Design: Testimonies of the Masters”), which will be introduced by Italian Ambassador Stefano Bianchi, Cristina Morozzi will illustrate to the more than 100 Belarussian professionals of the sector – including the representatives of furniture manufacturers, lighting and interior decoration companies – the evolution of Italian graphic design from the ‘80s to date, as interpreted by MODO, a provocative voice often against the mainstream of new trends.
The lecture will be followed by a round table on the theme: “Il lino bielorusso e l’arte del ricamo italiano: due mondi a confronto. Applicazioni e contaminazioni future delle tradizioni dei due Paesi” (“Belarusian linen and the art of Italian embroidery: two worlds juxtaposed. Applications and future cross-fertilisation between the traditions of the two Countries”). The panel will present and discuss the projects of the students of five Belarussian academic institutes specialised in the different aspects of design (Institute of Management and Social Technologies, the National Academy of Fine Arts, the Polytechnic of Minsk and Vitebsk, and the Belarusian University of Innovation).
Coarse linen is embroidered in thousands of different forms and patterns embedding the complex symbolisms typical of the Country’s traditional costumes. Some say that the etymology of the word “Belarus” (“White Rus”) comes from the predominantly white colour of linen. Under the supervision of Cristina Morozzi, the projects will interpret the possible innovative applications of linen in contemporary Italian and Belarusian design.
