Giovanna Massoni on design, fragility, and circular economy in post-Covid Europe

Giovanna Massoni, an Italian curator based in Brussels, works at the intersection of design and social innovation, focusing on projects rooted in local territories, particularly in the design-forward region stretching from Belgium to northeastern France. As artistic director of Reciprocity, Liège's design triennial since 2012, she curated 'Fragilitas' in 2018, a series of three exhibitions exploring design solutions for human vulnerabilities related to age, illness, and precariousness. For Lille World Design Capital 2020, she was to inaugurate Maison POC, an atelier dedicated to circular economy with grassroots contributions from the Métropole. The project, housed in a former convent being sustainably renovated by architecture collective Zerm, features a show with maquettes and documentation, plus international guests. Massoni criticizes the design system for its pretension and complicity in environmental and health crises, calling for a pause to reflect rather than rush into solutions. She argues that circular economy remains largely theoretical and must be adapted to each territory. The Lille events, originally scheduled for April 2020, have been postponed to September–November 2020. Massoni also organizes a conference for the digital Fuorisalone in June 2020 with Belgium Is Design, focusing on protecting and regenerating the design system.