The annual thematic event traditionally takes place simultaneously in many countries and cities of the world, bringing together numerous fans of Italian design and famous people working in this field.
For the eighth consecutive year, more than 100 Italian embassies from around the world are holding (in person or online) meetings with Italian designers and architects, discussing Italian creativity, major trends and their impact on everyday life.
Contrary to the realities of the current war, the Italian Embassy in Ukraine joined the world community in events dedicated to the Italian Design Day.
“Italian creativity is known all over the world. We believe that in the near future this creativity can be used to create new and sustainable environments for new generations in a free and bright Ukraine,” said the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic to Ukraine, Pier Francesco Zadzo.
The diplomatic representative also expressed his admiration for the extraordinary abilities and resilience of Ukrainians in dealing with the emergency situation caused by attacks on the energy infrastructure.
“We believe that in the near future Italian creativity combined with the technical and scientific training of Ukrainians will be able to create a new and ecological environment for future generations in Ukraine, enlightened not only by energy, but also by freedom“, the Ambassador Plenipotentiary noted in his speech.
According to the organizers, it was not by chance that the Actor’s House was chosen as the venue for the event. At one time, the famous Italian sculptor Elia Sala (also known to Kyivans as Elio Sala) played an important role in the decoration and decoration of the building.
The talented artist was a co-author and friend of the outstanding architect Vladyslav Horodetsky and participated in the decoration of many of his creations in Kyiv, including the House with Chimeras, the National Art Museum, and the Church of St. Nicholas.
The well-known sculptor’s portfolio also includes other iconic buildings for our city: the National Bank of Ukraine, the Opera House, the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and others.
The theme of this year’s event was the aspects of lighting, combined with the concept of aesthetics, energy saving and environmental factors.
The main speaker of the event was the architect and designer from Milan, Alessandro Colombo, who held an online webinar for the participants. His report this year was devoted to the topic “Efficient and reliable lighting”:
»…When the lights come on, the house comes alive. The device that brings life to the home is the Lamp, invented, designed and produced in many versions by Italian designers, with extraordinary results, receiving awards such as the Compasso d’Oro, the most important recognition in the field of lighting, but above all, affection a public consisting of people in all countries who wanted these devices to enter their homes and mark their lives…– remarked the speaker.
In his opinion, it is Italian lamps – table, hanging, floor – even decades after their conception, that are produced and bring the quality of their light and the beauty of their form into our homes, embodying the most important principles of good design. This reliability comes from afar and combines the shape of light, i.e. the beauty of objects, with the quality of light, a technology that is constantly improving and optimizing the use of energy.
“The direct effect of light on objects aims to emphasize not only the importance of the lamp as a work of art, even if many lamps are masterpieces, but the importance of the lamp as a tool that makes a daily contribution to our lives and homes, a quality that must live in moments of great difficulty through which we pass in order not to lose awareness of the content of the phenomena of our culture and our civilization,” said the Milanese designer.
Alessandro Colombo has a number of prestigious awards, teaches at the Polytechnics of Milan and Turin, and since 2016, Alessandro Colombo has been the Ambassador of Italian Design Day.
The event continued with the speech of the Director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Ukraine, Edoardo Crisafulli, as well as a live broadcast from the Lviv Polytechnic with the participation of Tony Corradine, the director of the trade exchange development department of the Italian Foreign Trade Agency (ICE), and the famous architect and blogger Julian Chaplinsky.
The musical part of the event was complemented by masterful performances by the “Shadow Theater” and a duet of violinists.
The famous Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Klymenko also presented his own exposition.
A lighting design contest was also announced as part of the event. Students of design faculties of Ukraine can take part in it. The best works will be selected by an Italian-Ukrainian jury for their further popularization in Ukraine and the world.
Tatyana ASADCHEVA
