EDIT Napoli: “fair” design is back in town
From October 7th to 9th the fair will be back, welcoming and supporting Italian and international exhibitors, special projects and collaborations promoting editorial, independent, sustainable and conscious design.
Everything is set for the new appointment with EDIT Napoli, the fair dedicated to authorial and independent design which, from October 7th to 9th (press preview on the 6th), will be back in Naples for its fourth consecutive edition, hosting exhibitors from all over the world with the aim of sustaining and promoting a new concept of design.
The fair is firmly grounded in the notion of local realities, sustainability and quality over quantity, through production processes that combine craftsmanship with design for pieces that can be replicated.
Established realities will be returning alongside new figures and firms that are representative of the living sector, showing ceramics, textiles, furnishings, surfaces and lighting.
A special area will be reserved for exhibitors under 30 and for firms under three years old, who will be displaying their products in the Seminario area.
This year it will exceptionally be conceived by students of the Accademia di design e arti visive Abadir of Catania, and will feature a generous delegation from the Netherlands thanks to the Young Dutch Titans call, launched for the second year running in collaboration with the Embassy and Consulate-General of the Netherlands in Italy.
The EDIT Napoli mission
The city of Naples will be the stage for a ‘slow’ concept of design brought about by the rigorous selection process which the founders of the event, Emilia Petruccelli and Domitilla Dardi, have been pursuing since 2019.
Both are actively involved in supporting independent designers, design authors and publishers, as well as both creators and producers.
In a spirit of hospitality that is typically Mediterranean, for the past four years EDIT Napoli has been bringing together different Italian and international realities, acting as a laboratory and fertile ground for building precious collaborations, transforming Naples into the cradle of future design.
“Let’s be fair- says Domitilla Dardi, speaking for what the event claims to be.
Not just in the sense of fair/event but also understood to be the adjective which best describes all the qualities EDIT Napoli strives for in terms of design – fairness, equality, appropriateness, beauty.
These are times in which respect for people, for “eco” processes that are both ecological and economical, and for the raw materials, is a highly relevant issue even for a design fair.”
“We are an independent fair”, explains Emilia Petruccelli, “which in these past four years has had to come to terms with a difficult context but which has found its way and a business identity thanks to courageous choices, a clear-cut community of designers that supports us and a territory – that of the region of Campania – which allows us to generate added value with contents and connections at an international level. We are growing together.”
The award and the jury
The main venue of the event, the Complesso Monumentale di San Domenico Maggiore, will be where new products from a broad range of different contexts will be presented.
Each year a panel of experts in the field assigns a prize, giving creatives the opportunity to return to display their products the following year at EDIT Napoli and at the Padiglione Brera of the FuoriSalone in Milan.
The jury tasked with selecting the most deserving projects will be made up of Italian and international designers, those operating in the design sector and journalists.
They are David Alhadeff, founder of The Future Perfect gallery, designer and architect Giuliano Andrea Dell’Uva, CEO and artistic director of Petite Friture Amélie Du Passage, architect and designer Patricia Urquiola and ELLE Decor Italia web director Alessandro Valenti.
The panel will be looking for projects which adhere to the selection criteria of embodying intelligent design values and having a deep-rooted respect for cultural heritage, all at a well-calibrated price.
Special projects
Alongside the fair itself, which attracts large numbers of visitors in terms of both experts and enthusiasts, each year EDIT Napoli develops various special projects.
These are partnerships that underscore the importance of networking.
Places, people, artists and firms from all backgrounds are involved in activities that highlight creativity and its processes.
Astrid Luglio for Feudi di San Gregorio
Designer Astrid Luglio, after a period of residence at Feudi di San Gregorio and an in-depth study of the firm and its vision, has designed a bar using the materials and craft techniques of Irpinia.
In October, as part of the event, the bar will be installed within San Domenico Maggiore.
All visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the story of this winery – which has recently been awarded a B Corp certification – along with its surrounding area and its community.
It will also be possible to taste the Feudi di San Gregorio wines, which the producers believe share the same creative process as an artwork.
Agostino Iacurci for San Patrignano
Another special project has involved the Design Lab of the San Patrignano community.
Together with artist Agostino Iacurci, well-known for his large-scale wall paintings, the design workshop has been busy setting up a fascinating exhibition which will completely transform the entrance of the Complesso Monumentale di San Domenico Maggiore.
Other special projects (info)
With its gaze firmly directed at the future, alongside its established collaboration with the Padiglione Brera EDIT Napoli has started a new collaboration with VID | Venice Innovation Design, the event which focuses on the process of urban regeneration on the island of the Venice lagoon.
For the first time, the two events will be twinned, enabling certain exhibitors selected by EDIT Napoli to take part in the next event that will be hosted in Venice.
Another collaboration that has been pursued is between EDIT Napoli and the WBDM (Wallonie Bruxelles Design Mode) governmental body that is part of Belgium is Design: on Saturday 8th at 7pm the Fondazione Made in Cloister will be hosting a presentation of the documentary film The Object Becomes, produced in 2021, which will be circulating in the international design festivals and documentary films circuits throughout 2022.
There is considerable anticipation for the DComeDesign association, which will be the attraction at a talk scheduled for Saturday 8th at 6pm at the PLART Foundation, with the title “Creatività e sensibilità al femminile, un valore progettuale al di là del gender” (feminine creativity and sensitivity, project value beyond gender).
EDIT CULT
Much excitement surrounds the EDIT Cult initiative, a programme of exhibitions spread out over various venues and dedicated to the culture of designing, with the aim of opening to the public and promoting some of Naples’ finest locations that will be hosting presentations of projects with an international reach.
Allegra Hicks “DIVINAZIONE” – Church of SS. Filippo e Giacomo
Within the Arte della Seta museum complex of the church of SS. Filippo e Giacomo, designer Allegra Hicks – internationally renowned for her works combining craftsmanship, product and textile art – will be showing her latest project, the silk tapestry work DIVINAZIONE.
Michele De Lucchi “Le Casette delle Pezzentelle” – Church museum of Santa Luciella
The Santa Luciella church museum will be hosting the creations of internationally renowned architect Michele De Lucchi, who will be presenting his Casette delle Pezzentelle – site-specific works in wood conceived for the crypt of the church.
This hypogeum was for centuries devoted to an ancient popular cult of the so-called pezzentelle souls of the deceased, whose identity was unknown and who were “adopted” by people who cared for them both in material and spiritual terms.
The insertion of small-scale coloured architectural creations within such a context aims to bring joy to the space, enlivening it as a home to those abandoned souls.
Piet Hein Eek “PARALLELS” – Fondazione Made in Cloister
The spaces of the Fondazione Made in Cloister will be hosting the retrospective “PARALLELS”, curated by Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek, known for his work grounded in the methodical slow pace of craftsmanship combined with care and quality, all using accessible materials.
Piet has selected young Dutch designers who embrace the philosophy of sustainability and who will be displaying their creations. They are JB Gambier, Teun zwets, Sho Ota, Massimo Pavan, Paul Coenen, Rikkert Paauw, Tweek eek.
Rumi Dalle for House of Today – Palazzo Venezia
Back for the second year running, House of Today is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to identify, cultivate, guide, care for, exhibit and connect Lebanese product designers with experts in the field of design.
Featured this year at Palazzo Venezia will be artist Rumi Dalle, who will be representing Lebanon in Italy. After studying the techniques of ancient Neapolitan craftsmanship, Dalle opted to collaborate with papier-mâché craftswoman Teresa Cervo in the creation of the new works that will be presented at EDIT Napoli.
Patricia Urquiola | HYBRIDA | Made in EDIT
This year’s EDIT Cult also includes the presentation of the freshly restored didactic garden within the Istituto Caselli Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte.
The project was made possible thanks to the solidarity auction, held in collaboration with Christie’s, of the prototypes of the HYBRIDA collection designed by Patricia Urquiola.
HYBRIDA is the result of the residence programme activated by Made in EDIT in 2020, during which the architect and designer collaborated with the Istituto Caselli Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte.
From this experience, in 2021 a new collection which breathes new life into the ancient art of porcelain was born.
This precious work has resulted in a line of reproduceable pieces specifically created for Made in EDIT, the brand that promotes collaborations that begin within the EDIT Napoli framework and which every year exhibits its collections at the fair.
