Source Design Festival Returns to Florence with New Venue and Hacking Program

The fourth edition of Source, a design festival focused on self-production, moves from Limonaia di Villa Strozzi to Le Murate in Florence, running September 15–22, 2016. The event features a collective exhibition of thirty self-producers selected via open call, alongside over fifty speakers in conferences, roundtables, and workshops. Founder Roberto Rubini, curating his final edition, introduces Hacking Source, a program where external curators—led by architect Giacomo Garziano of GG-loop from the Netherlands—hack the festival format through seven brainstorming sessions on topics from food to biotech. The festival also partners with local businesses for shop-sharing, offering retail space to designers. Rubini notes that self-production is growing but lacks institutional and productive centers, and that designers must develop entrepreneurial skills to achieve economic sustainability. He emphasizes the importance of dialogue between industry and craftsmanship, and warns against resource dispersion when collaborations prioritize profit or culture alone.