It's the record year for the Island designer festival. In fact, in 2022, in the setting of the most famous Milanese exhibition, with the program Together As One, the event gathers the highest number of designers and projects ever achieved.
The goal is to stimulate an active and lively network between exhibitors and visitors: in fact, more than 250, including individual designers and dedicated studios, are the international reference points of this event.
To them are added the local galleries and artisans, distributed among about 50 points of interest in the Milanese district.
The theme: Together As One
Together As One starts from an extremely contemporary assumption: today design no longer concerns only the final product, but involves - it stages - the whole process of creation, first of all bringing people together and pushing them to reflect on what the real current challenges are:
“With Isola - explained Gabriele Cavallaro, Co-founder and CEO of Isola Design Group - we have always been committed to putting emerging designers and professionals in the sector in contact. Physical and digital platforms enhance and support the rapid growth of a network that connects people from different fields and disciplines, allowing those who are part of it to get to know each other, learn and find inspiration ".
In this edition, the exhibitions curated by Isola will revolve around six themes:
- circular design,
- new materials,
- crafts,
- eco-sustainable production,
- social design
- collectible design.
No Space for Waste
No Space for Waste is the concept behind all the initiatives at one of the district's main hubs: Stecca3. It's also the name of the main exhibition that will be hosted on the first floor of the space overlooking the Biblioteca degli Alberi (Bibliotheca of Trees), focusing on designer products and furnishings designed to minimize their environmental impact or created using industrial waste.
An ode to circular design and creativity. The initiative is supported by Heura, the fastest growing vegetable meat company in Europe. Participating designers and design studios: Riccardo Cenedella, Karma Design, Macarena Torres Puga Studio, Muhammad Shareef, Yaroslava Galayko, Better Weather, The Minimono Project, Lyla Design, Nicole Chrysikou, Amalia Puga, Boutures, Duplex Studio, Austeja Platukyte, Anga Paris , Tobia Zambotti, Without Square, Zavier Wong Zhen Zui, Irene Roca Moracia, Camille Calvo. On the ground floor of the location, DesignWanted, _sucks and Caracol present Robot Shit Exhibit, the first exhibition that enhances 3D printing waste. What is the Robot Shit? It is the waste material produced by robots during 3D product molding. The project aims to show 3D scraps to enhance them as a circular raw material, bringing together some of the most appreciated and awarded international design studios to entrust them with the task of translating these scraps into a new line of products, thus giving new life to the Robot Shit. In the outdoor area near the Biblioteca degli Alberi there will be a lounge area created by Supernovas, a brand with the aim of transforming waste materials into design products. In the small square overlooking via De Castillia, on the other hand, visitors will find the Smile rocking chairs designed by Pietro Bonu and produced by Caracol for Vivident. The project stems from a reflection on the theme of inclusiveness: trying to reduce distances to get closer, confront and share one's uniqueness. A concept that is even stronger and more important in times of pandemics. There will also be the stair painting project curated by ISIA Urbino, Stecca3 and Isola, with the technical sponsorship of Heura. Three public talks will also take place on the same staircase, on 8, 9 and 10 June from 18.30 pm, curated by Stecca3, Temporiuso and ISIA Urbino.
The new web platform
The pride of this edition - and above all novelties of great practical value - is the new platform for designers, professionals and lovers of the sector The sixth edition of Isola Design Festival will not only be an offline event, but also an opportunity for the launch of the new version of the digital platform of Isola! Created in 2020 in response to the pandemic, isola.design offers visibility to the best projects by emerging designers and independent studios from around the world. Space for expression and enhancement of an entire Community, today it has more than 500 selected designers and over 1.000 published projects, including new materials, unique pieces, sustainable furnishings, innovative products and production processes. The launch of the new version of the platform is scheduled for the beginning of June, so that visitors to the Milan Design Week can take the opportunity to discover it and register. They will thus be able to upload different types of content, becoming part of a real new social network dedicated to the world of design and creativity, aimed at connecting designers, companies, professionals, journalists and lovers of the sector.
C.V. Slow
Vita Lenta is a project commissioned to Finemateria by Isola Design Group, in collaboration with the Lombardy Region, designed for a public space where individuality and collectivity are cohesive and are part of a single movement. A sensory installation inspired by the Japanese house, an inclusive installation, which hosts 16 selected international designers, showcasing projects linked by a similar, slow and well-narrated creative process. Finemateria addresses the ways in which people experience an exhibition itinerary linked to editorial and research design. Often the visit is static and inexpressive, without going beyond a superficial visual perception. Losing track of time is the central theme of the installation: from the selection of the projects on display to the way in which we record the information. Slow Life creates an experience that connects thoughts and actions, instilling a unique memory. Participating designers and design studios: Cara Davide, Lorenzo Mason, Ryota Akiyama, Sohma Furutate, Yosuke Matsushita, Kodai Iwamoto, Johanna Seelemann, Multistandard, Collin Velkoff, Juliette Berthnonneau, Tamako Yamada, Héloïse Piraud, Hannah Segerkrantz, Plasticiet.
The image:
shot of Dario Raimondi, Finemateria project: Slow Life
