BOLD Dualities @ Milan Design Week

Belgium is Design

16.04.24 to 21.04.24

Baranzate Ateliers

Via Gaudenzio Fantoli 16 ranza, 20138 Milano

For the first time in the history of Belgium is Design, the international design platform organised by MAD Brussels, Flanders DC and WBDM, more than 30 designers and design studios are exhibiting together during Milan Design Week.

Belgium is Design promotes international Belgian design talent and connects design professionals at key events and B2B meetings. This year, Belgium is Design returns to Milan for the annual highlight of the international design sector, Milan Design Week. From 15 to 21 April, you can discover the work of 30 Belgian designers at the new, spectacular location of Baranzate Ateliers, a project by Zaventem Ateliers.

Titled BOLD Dualities, the exhibition, curated by Baroness O., showcases local talent in a scenography by Karel Burssens. Belgium Is Design is proud to present a bold, varied and daring selection: amgs studio, Atelier Leda, Bent Fierens, Chateau Resort, Cocono, Combo Toys, Duplex, Fractall, Home Studyo, Jules Vrijsen, KRUM, Lisa Berden, Lou van 't Riet, Maak & Transmettre, Maud Brunstein, Muller Van Severen, Nathalie Van der Massen, Nortstudio, Nuts&Bolts, Oskar De Roover, paulineplusluis, Sébastien Caporusso, Studio BISKT, Studio Matta, Studio Minimètre, studio MOTO, Studio Nas, Studio Plastique, Tenue de Ville, Venlettettelin

EXHIBITION BOLD DUALITIES

Despite Belgium being a small country with a complex historical and political structure, its designers often exhibit humility, adaptability and ambiguity. These contradictions converge in the presentation of BOLD Dualities. The exhibition, featuring objects from over thirty Belgian designers, illustrates how designers adapt to the ambiguous identity of the country, navigate complex situations, and engage with their surroundings. Above all, it highlights how this translates into their designs, how they stimulate and question the design industry, push boundaries within existing norms, and never shy away from challenges. This unique approach often distinguishes them from similar international profiles, allowing them to focus on a distinctive style of design that makes Belgian design truly unique.

Curators Baroness O. emphasize the duality in the title by categorizing selected objects into two groups, placing them almost in opposition of each other. This creates an exciting dichotomy between objects and their designers, where contradiction strangely brings them together and also divides them. The result is a dynamic interplay between two groups telling a collective story, attracting and repelling, dividing and connecting. These groups engage in a dialogue within Karel Burssens’ scenography.

Baranzate Ateliers

This year Belgium is Design is participating in Baranzate Ateliers, a project of Zaventem Ateliers. Baranzate Ateliers returns to Milan for a highly anticipated second edition, set to be even larger and more ambitious than its first iteration which launched to wide public acclaim during Milan Design Week in 2022. Taking up residence in a new location in Via Gaudenzio Fantoli 16/3, a monumental 1950s industrial building of 7,300 sqm, this year’s unmissable programme, spanning art, collectible design and performances promises to be amajor highlight of the design week.

Baroness O.

Curators of the exhibition are Baroness O., a creative studio founded in 2011, based in Brussels, and led by Anne Van Assche and Kim Vandeloo. Baroness O. focuses on curating, scenography, organization, art direction, and design at the intersection of art and design. They consistently aim to foreground the story behind a design in a coherent manner. Over the years, they have worked on various projects for clients such as the Design Museum Gent, the Biënnale Interieur, Vitra, and Feeling Wonen. Additionally, they have conceived their concepts, including the exhibition Familiar Reflections and the design pop-up shop SUPERMARKET.