Two weeks ago Stefano Boeri, the president of Triennale di Milano and head of Stefano Boeri Architetti studio, presented changes and novelties about the institution. The aim is to create “a place where different points of view are considered, and controversial topics are discussed”. Firstly he talked about a change in the business model to improve profits (Triennale’s debts amount to 6 million euros). FederlegnoArredo, federation of furniture companies, will enter in the governance team of the Triennale di Milano as “participant supporter”. Operation seasoned by a “great financial support”, estimated in 400 thousand euros.
Talking about design, one of the first novelties is the Permanent Museum of Italian Design, curated by Joseph Grima, head of the Triennale design, fashion and crafts sector. It will open in 2019 and will be located on the first floor of the Palazzo Dell’Arte occupying the right “curve” of the building. One doubt: is it possible to fit a collection, already defined “the design archive of archives”, in such a space? We will discover it on February with the Permanent Museum opening. Among the scheduled exhibitions, the retrospective on Enzo Mari by Hans Ulrich Obrist (2019), the exhibition on Carlo Aymonino and on BIG Bjarke Ingels Group (2020), as well as a series of exhibitions that investigate urban transformations. Another important name to which a personal exhibition will be dedicated is the Mexican architect and artist Pedro Reyes.
In March 2019 the XXII Triennale, “Broken Nature” curated by Paola Antonelli, will open to the public. Unlike the previous Triennali, we will witness a different exhibition with a series of projects beyond furniture and products, trying to redefine the design world. This edition will “celebrate design’s ability to offer powerful insight into the key issues of our age, moving beyond pious deference and inconclusive anxiety.” Next week we will talk more in details about the XXII Triennale.
Opposite Triennale, there will be Triennale Off: an urban regeneration project to create a meeting space for citizens, located in the green area between Cadorna station and Palazzo dell’Arte, in temporary concession to the Triennale di Milano for the XXII Triennale. The project involves the installation of a series of temporary services, equipment and pavilions, based on the model of the Serpentine Galleries in London. This area will accommodate artistic activities, events, performances and a public program. The project masterplan will be realized by Studio Andrea Caputo, Lorenzo Castellini and Salvatore Porcaro.
Inside the spaces of Triennale will be place also the new Urban Center, an inclusive space of narration and urban planning, able to offer moments of dialogue for local communities, professionals and companies. For the design of the new Urban Center, the Triennale has opened a selection procedure in collaboration with the Order of Architects, Landscape Planners and Conservators of the Province of Milan. Among the 69 nominations received, the jury in charge of the selection, chaired by Cino Zucchi, unanimously decided to reward the Ghidoni-Dusi project. Ghidoni, part of Salottobuono Studio team, realized also the Teatrino, temporary space designed in occasion of the Milano Arch Week 2018.
Other two projects to mention are The Park of Cultures, a series of events in which art, theater, music, science and literature interact with each other. The institutions involved in the first initiative that took place on 30 September 2018 were: the Civic Aquarium, the Sempione Park Library, the Sforzesco Castle, the Musical Afternoons, the Natural History Museum, the Piccolo Teatro di Milano , the Torre Branca, the Milan Triennale. The second and last project is Radio Triennale, with the contribution of Filippo Solibello and Ivan Berni: an experiment that will start to reinforce Triennale’s vocation as a collector of different experiences, opening up to new forms of research and experimentation in the production of audio content.
An ambitious 360 degree renovation with urban regeneration projects, new contents, new multimedia platforms. Boeri’s presidency is bringing a lot of novelties but also a lot of perplexities: will the institution be ready for the 2019? On the 30th of August Triennale of Milan wrote a press release to communicate that the XI edition of the Triennale Design Museum Stories – under the direction of the previous Triennale Design Museum Director, Silvana Annicchiarico – would be closed four months in advance of its ending date, in order to have time to organize the future events. Luckily a critical letter from Mendini and 27 personalities from the Italian design system to Boeri, avoided this unusual situation. Apart from the lack of respect for the work of curators and brands (not justifiable), Triennale will be ready to welcome new contents and propose a richer events proposal or is it just a renovation lead by politics and economy? 2019 will have the answers we are looking for.
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