MAGA Gallarate Opens Dual Exhibition on Art and Design

The MAGA museum in Gallarate, Italy, has launched a five-month exhibition titled "Arte e design. Design è arte" exploring the relationship between art and design. Curated by director Emma Zanella, Vittoria Broggini, and Alessandro Castiglioni, the show draws inspiration from the late critic Philippe Daverio, who once said, "The energy that belonged to the art world has passed to design." The exhibition traces Italian design's innovation and dialogue with visual arts from the second half of the 20th century to today. A concurrent show, "HYPERDESIGN. XXVII edizione del Premio Gallarate," curated by Chiara Alessi, focuses on design as a projective force. Both exhibitions run until March 2025. The museum also features interactive programs including workshops, guided tours, and talks. Educational activities sold out before the opening, attracting audiences from schools and universities across Lombardy. The installation, designed with Parasite 2.0, uses lightweight, communicating walls to foster dialogue. Notable projects include Archeoplastica, which collects plastic objects from Puglia beaches to highlight plastic's durability; Sex & the City and CHEAP, which analyze gender in urban spaces; and Interno Italiano, which challenges traditional design-industry-distribution chains by working with artisans. The shows also reconstruct historical pieces, such as Enzo Mari's self-assembly chair from the 1970s and a collaboration between Memphis and Studio Azzurro from 1983.