Udine Design Week 2020 Goes Ahead Despite Coronavirus, Focuses on Nature and Circular Economy

The fifth edition of Udine Design Week will open on March 2, 2020, as scheduled, despite the coronavirus emergency. Curator Anna Lombardi of MuDeFri – Museo del Design del Friuli Venezia Giulia confirmed that all participating shops have confirmed and that the event will proceed. To comply with regional ordinances, exhibition durations will be extended and events staggered over a longer period. The theme is 'Naturalmente Artificiale/Artificialmente Naturale,' exploring the blurred line between nature and artifice. Highlights include Matteo Ragni's carousel made from trees felled by Storm Vaia in October 2018, titled 'Do Ut Des,' emphasizing circular economy. The collective Il Vespaio presents 'Plastica Preziosa,' a machine for domestic plastic recycling that lets visitors print a small design object. A Window Shopping Contest will feature ten shop windows styled by young architects with local companies. A videomapping exhibition 'Donne al Bauhaus – Leonardo designer,' curated by Lombardi and produced by MuDeFri, opens March 2 at Galleria Tina Modotti, celebrating female Bauhaus pioneers like Marianne Brandt, Anni Albers, and Gunta Stölz. The show highlights how these women faced gender discrimination at the school, being steered away from architecture toward weaving or ceramics, and draws parallels to Leonardo da Vinci as a designer. The event runs from March 2 to 9 in Udine.