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The Consulate General of Italy
and
the Italian Cultural Institute
in San Francisco
present
ITALIAN DESIGN WEEK
June 22nd - 25th, 2013
ACHIEVING THE IMPROBABLE
INNOVATING WITH BEAUTY
Artisanship, Technology, Design
Towards a new Economy of Beauty
Milano meets San Francisco
presented by
Fondazione Giannino Bassetti
in collaboration with
Triennale di Milano
Confartigianato
Politecnico di Milano
Academy of Art University
San Francisco Design Week
and the generous contribution of
Deutsche Bank, Gruppo Poltrona Frau
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ITALIAN DESIGN WEEK
ACHIEVING THE IMPROBABLE. INNOVATING WITH BEAUTY
For the 2013 Year of Italian Culture in the US, Fondazione Giannino Bassetti presents in San
Francisco and the Bay Area the culture, beauty and innovation of 'Made in Italy' design: a week
of exhibitions, debate and comparison between the cutting edge models of Italian production and
the technology of Silicon Valley towards a new economy of beauty.
A comparison between the multiple forms of creativity and innovation found in Milan and its
Region, and San Francisco and the Bay Area, to recount the story of artisanship and design as
'new ways of working'. A lesson of style and technique for a culture of work invigorated by the
opportunities of the 21st century.
A week of discussions between intellectuals, from Italy and the US; between artisan workshops
and laboratories of «makers»; between systems of interest, companies, and networks of actors on
both sides.
Today we find US companies that hold the beating heart of artisan production in their hands,
with unseen technologies, financial and reputational assets. The world also recognizes and
appreciates the Italian cultural ability to understand and represent design, as a form of poetry,
beauty and business. Immersed in this long tradition, and with our feet firmly on the ground, we
want to explore the future, where technology shifts open new ways to beauty and change the
models of global production.
«Just as the World Wide Web has democratized bit technology innovation, a new class of
technology that allows rapid prototype production today – and includes 3D printers and laser
cutters – is democratizing the innovation of atoms» (Chris Anderson, Makers)
Milan and San Francisco are equal protagonists, each with their own particularities. Milan
building upon and reconstructing its renaissance heritage of artisan workshops, San Francisco
through the cutting edge use of technology, where the bit meets the atom: two cities in the bright
fog of change looking for new paths, working for the future of humankind
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Program
SATURDAY JUNE 22nd
10.00 a.m. – Academy of Art University - The Cannery, 2801 Leavenworth Street, San Francisco
Private opening for guests only of
ITALIAN DESIGN WEEK and the TRIENNALE MUSEUM OF MILAN EXHIBIT
“The New Italian Design 2.0”
(San Francisco Mayor meets Milan Mayor)
(Ambassador of Italy, Claudio Bisogniero)
Consul General of Italy, Mauro Battocchi
Director Italian Cultural Institute, Paolo Barlera
Introduction to the Italian Design Week theme :
Achieving the improbable. Innovating with beauty
Piero Bassetti, Fondazione Giannino Bassetti
……………………., Triennale di Milano
Giuseppe Sala, Expo Milano 2015
Cesare Fumagalli, Confartigianato
Giovanni Azzone, Politecnico di Milano
……………………, Camera di Commercio di Monza
Host, contributors and sponsors remarks and acknowledgements
……………………..Academy of Arts University
……………………, Deutsche Bank
……………………. Gruppo Poltrona Frau
Exhibit Preview
The New Italian Design 2.0 by Triennale Museum of Milan
An overview on contemporary Italian design that explains and describes the transition of the
movement and its links with economic, political and technology changes that have occurred
over the recent decades.
12:00 p.m. – Academy of Art University - The Cannery, San Francisco
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Brunch
2:00-4:30 p.m. – Academy of Art University - The Cannery, 1801 Leavenworth Street, San Francisco
Symposium
From Taylorism to Tailor Made
A bridge between two cultures
The role of craftsmanship, as seen from both the US and Italian perspective, in the future of
production systems. How design, craftsmanship and technology will contribute to the new
economy of beauty.
Introduction
Piero Bassetti
Opening Speeches
Richard Sennett – Chris Anderson
Panel
Stefano Micelli, Università Ca’Foscari Venezia
Question time
5:00 p.m. Academy of Art University – The Cannery, San Francisco
Opening of the Exhibit to the Public
Reception
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SUNDAY JUNE 23RD
11:00 a.m. - Singularity University
Workshop
Milano meets San Francisco Round 1
Beauty and tech, a new vision, a new way of education
A workshop with students and professionals comparing how artisanal innovative companies and
“makers”, both in the Milan Hinterland and in Silicon Valley are innovating and creating products
and services.
Panel: Giulio Ceppi (Total Tool), Giovanni Lanzone (TheRenaissanceLink), Stefano Micelli
(Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia), Rodrigo Rodriquez (Flos), Sigurdur Thortsteinsson (Design
Group Italia) and a selection of innovative Italian artisanal based enterprises.
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MONDAY JUNE 24th
6.30 p.m. – TBD
Workshop and exhibition opening
Milano meets San Francisco Round 2
From Made in Italy to Make in Italy
Designers, and entrepreneurs present and illustrate innovative Italian based companies that use
innovation, beauty and design to improve their success in the market.
Opening of the Confartigianato Exhibition:
The new Shape of Artisans' Identities.
An Octagon of Values for the Future of Craftmanship
Introduction
Cesare Fumagalli (Confartigianato), Giulio Ceppi (Total Tool), Rodrigo Rodriquez (Flos),
Thortsteinsson (Design Group Italia)
Panel
Several representative of Italian enterprises and their US counterparts
TUESDAY JUNE 25th
6.30 p.m. – Italian Cultural Institute, 814 Montgomery Street, San Francisco
A debate, an exhibit, a special night
Milano meets San Francisco Round 3
Explorers of Design
A dialog on design thinking between the Italian and US experiences. Case histories,
methodology, innovation.
Introduction: Paolo Barlera (Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco)
Giulio Ceppi (Total tool) Giovanni Lanzone (TheRenaissanceLInk), Sigurdur Thorststeinsson
(Design Group Italia)
Special visit to the exhibition
Frau Group + Capellini’s Heroes
A two-part exhibition presenting Poltrona Frau works and Cappellini’s celebration of his own
design icons. This exhibit explores design between imagination and reality.
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