salone del mobile's 2023 cultural program unveiled

salone del mobile.milano 2023 format & cultural program

Milan Design Week 2023: Launching under the theme Do you speak design?, the 61st edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano is being held at Fiera Milano Rho from April 18 to 23, 2023. The fair will bring together 1,962 exhibitors, including more than 550 young talents under 35 and 27 design schools, all spread across six hubs: Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, Workplace3.0, S.Project, Euroluce, and SaloneSatellite. Major works by FormaFantasma will also be the highlight of the week-long fair.

More importantly, after a few difficult years of reflection and questioning around the future of trade fairs, this new edition will be fuelled by three significant departures from salone’s traditional format: a single exhibition level that simplifies and improves accessibility through a widespread and capillary design; a new Euroluce layout, which rather than being stand-centric is now focused on people and their fruition of the event, with a smart, hyper-accessible and better connected loop-shaped path; and finally, an integrated cultural program that meshes into the spaces of the lighting biennial, Euroluce (returning for its 31st edition), with interdisciplinary and experiential content ranging from architecture to art, exhibitions, talks, workshops, and site-specific installations.

press conference for the 61st edition | all images courtesy of Salone del Mobile.Milano

introducing ‘the city of lights’ by euroluce

Curated by Beppe Finessi and designed by FormaFantasma studio, the cultural program at the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2023 will take place in the Euroluce pavilions and offer various contents, including a palimpsest of talks with leading protagonists, curated by Annalisa Rosso. Together, the events and spaces will be structured in such a way as to provide glimpses of different themes — from the more technical to the markedly artistic.

The concept and common thread holding together the display, the commercial, and the cultural aspects of Euroluce 2023 is The City of Lights, featuring an urban-type layout, providing opportunities for exchange, rest, interface, and learning. Right at the heart of these spaces, in Pavilion 13, is Aurore, a plaza and arena designed by FormaFantasma to host several different activities whilst offering immersive and reflective ad hoc experiences. The studio also developed twelve Constellations, a set of ‘intermezzos’ that will host exhibitions within a show curated by Finessi, lining the whole route. Completing the program are four main exhibitions and a site-specific installation.

twelve Constellations displays by Formafantasma

outlining the four exhibitions & site-specific installation

The first exhibition, curated and installed by Massimo Curzi, is a solo show for renowned contemporary photographer Hélène Binet, featuring an original selection of images that explore the relationship between natural light and architecture. The Binet show will be followed by a Martina Sanzarello-curated exhibition that pays homage to the classic incandescent light bulb by transforming its primary and pragmatic function into unsettling objects and small experimental installations.

Next up, Matteo Pirola will curate a display of ‘artificial stars’, depicting luminous happenings, orbiting spheres, reflective surfaces, blinding eclipses, and colored auroras, set up by From Outer Space. Finally, for the fourth exhibition, Michele Cazavara will curate a photo collection of architectural interiors in which artificial light is the protagonist; the collection will also feature an installation by Berfu Bengisu Goren.

Meanwhile, Maurizio Nannucci, one of the most powerful interpreters of artificial light in contemporary art, will be presenting a site-specific installation — a long and luminous neon phrase that reads: ‘you can imagine the opposite‘, prompting the viewer to engage in creative, curious, and virtuous thinking. Another important space and a veritable ‘cultural garrison’ will consist of a design, art, and illustration bookshop by FormaFantasma, stocking literary tomes that explore the theme of light in different ways. The space will be curated by Corraini Edizioni and exude an intimate, warm, and welcoming space.

‘twelve Constellations’ displays by Formafantasma

The curated talks at salone del mobile 2023

Beyond spaces for display, the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2023 edition will also host a series of curated talks inside the Aurore venue. Curated by Annalisa Rosso, the program will particularly focus on lighting, technology, and sustainability, enriching the fair with conversations and debates held by some of the most brilliant figures in the contemporary lighting scene. ‘A genuine invitation to reflect and share constructive thoughts on urgent contemporary matters that affect us all, such as ecological transition and the role of technology in the near future,’ writes the fair.

So far, the names of Shigeru Ban, Nao Tamura, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Marius Myking of Snøhetta, and Andrea D’Antrassi of MAD have been announced; each will be asked to share their insights on how innovation in the lighting field can improve future living. Italian protagonist Gaetano Pesce will also appear in the SaloneSatellite space.

Alongside the cultural program announcement, the salone released the entire ‘alphabet’ of its communication campaign, which you can read about here.

Halo Horizon by Mandalaki – part of the Matteo Pirola-curated exhibition