The ninth edition of the international visual and social design festival Graphic DaysⓇ will take place from 16 to 26 May at the Flashback Habitat spaces in Turin. An exhibition itinerary, a permanent work space and a calendar of events including conferences, workshops, live performances, DJ sets and activities for children, in the main headquarters and spread throughout the city, will interpret the title “A kind of future”.
The Graphic DaysⓇ festival is an initiative dedicated to Italian and international visual design promoted in Turin since 2016 by the Print Club Torino association, the Plug association and the quattrolinee agency; starting from the great icons of history up to contemporary professionals, the festival talks about visual communication at 360 degrees and its contaminations in an annual event that involves the most relevant artists, professionals and studios on the international scene.
The 2024 edition is entitled “A kind of future”.
“With the awareness of being in a moment in which the work of the designer and his role in society are at the center of great transformations” argue Ilaria Reposo and Fabio Guida, artistic directors of the festival, “we have chosen to bring attention back to creativity as a fundamental element to produce innovation and encourage experimentation.”
The theme lends itself to a dual interpretation.
A kind of future is first and foremost a hypothesis of the future, not necessarily an alternative to other visions, which places the use of new languages and the valorization of young talents at the center of attention. The experimentation is understood at 360° and ranges from the decontextualized use of commonly used objects in a creative and innovative way to the most cutting-edge technologies based on artificial intelligence and the development of new tools.
“We want to overcome the idea” continue the artistic directors “that innovation is the exclusive prerogative of technological progress; on the contrary, in our vision, innovation can also start from analogue tools because the founding element is creativity and the way in which we approach even common objects”.
A kind future is the second key to understanding the festival: a future that puts kindness at the centre, in which attention to people and the planet are the primary objective of every design action. This trend also includes social design initiatives built through the involvement of local communities.
The festival calendar will take place from May 16 to 26 within Flashback Habitat, an exhibition space recently reopened to the public and surrounded by greenery, with a structured program that will include:
An exhibition itinerary that will propose different forms of experimentation and innovation, hosting artists and experiences from all over the world, bringing the most cutting-edge creative practices of the moment to Turin. Starting from a monographic study on the work of Vincent De Boer and Matteo Giuntini, ample space is dedicated to the international context which is analyzed through 4 interpretations: poster, type design, editorial and illustration. The future is explored through the key of social design in We mix design and people with the experience of the Farm Cultural Park center and with projects ranging from data design, to editorial and visual design. During the visit the public can also take an active part in creative production by interacting with multimedia installations based on artificial intelligence and generative art. In the outdoor spaces of the park, a selection of 20 works taken from the international call Fight for Kindness, promoted by TypeCampus.
A permanent open workspace curated by Print Club Torino which will connect international printmakers, designers and companies, with live experiences open to all visitors and training and professionalising workshop moments: a permanent open workspace where a collective work will be created.
A calendar of events with workshops, talks and performances, a market exhibition and a section of initiatives dedicated to schools and families.
The festival’s activities also extend to the city: In the city is the calendar of initiatives created through the involvement of communication agencies, design studios and various entities operating in the field of visual and social design in the area. On May 17 and 24 it will be possible to get to know the eclectic nature of the Turin creative scene by visiting places not generally accessible to the public: very different exhibitions, workshops, performances and events will interpret the theme of the festival A kind of future.
One of the main cores of the festival’s activities is reserved for young designers. From 2021 the festival promotes the Neologia call dedicated to Italian designers under 30 or who have lived in Italy for at least two years, creating a showcase space to present young talents in today’s world of visual design: a democratic and constantly evolving environment that collects the best projects, rewarding the quality and experimentation of languages, thus allowing new creative minds to become part of a dynamic and international context.
Every year the 100 projects selected in the Editorial, Poster and Motion categories are exhibited at the festival; among these, special prizes are then identified and awarded at a public event: the Neologia prize awarded by the Print Club and various mentions and prizes offered by the project partners. For the 2024 edition, awards from Farm Cultural Park, Zetafonts, International Graphics Biennale, AWDA and Fabrica are expected, which will take the form of professional experiences, residencies, workshops,… For the first time in 2024, the Artificial Intelligence category: posters and motions can also be created through artificial intelligence and participate in a dedicated selection.
As a corollary to the exhibition, a calendar of events dedicated to young designers:
Saturday May 18 at 4.00 pm contest award ceremony and talk by Zetafonts entitled “Life is better with more fonts” and Sunday May 19 at 10.30 am portfolio review with Fabrica, the communication research center of Treviso.
The two weekends are the moments in which most of the activities on offer are concentrated: from professionalizing workshops to conferences with experts from all over the world to moments of B2B meetings and discussions.
Saturday May 18 from 10.00 to 18.00 ¡DAMN HAPPY LIFE?, screen printing workshop with Lars Harmsen of Slanted Publishers.
Sunday May 19 from 10.00 to 14.00 BRUSH BENDERS, calligraphy workshop with Vincent de Boer; at 4.00pm Design Talk, a discussion on the future of design with Vincent De Boer, Lars Harmsen of Slanted Publishers, Ariane Spanier and Martyna Wędzicka-Obuchowicz.
Saturday May 25 from 10.00 to 13.30 A KIND OF RIOT, a tribute to the bold and provocative punk aesthetic through a collective publication in Risograph with the Print Club Torino. At 4.00 pm the round table dedicated to social design We Mix Design and People with Farm Cultural Park, Sheldon.studio, Parco Studio, Studio Airport and Graphic DaysⓇ.
Sunday May 26 from 10.00 to 13.30 TUFTING, a workshop to experiment with the use of the tufting gun with Nodo – Tufting Torino. At 4.00 pm the Pandemonio talk with the communication agencies that participated in a social design project on the topic of fake news.
In addition to the activities for professionals, there are performative and musical moments and activities addressed to families: a free kids area always available and a calendar of workshops for children, on Saturday and on Sunday at 10.30 and 11.30am:
May 18: Warped plots, to create colored flags with natural textures with paper
May 19: The world I would like, a workshop based on stamps and inks
May 25: Creative recycling that is good for the planet, an upcycling experience with Iren
May 26: A postcard from the future, with mixed painting techniques
On the weekend of May 25 and 26, a market exhibition which will involve the outdoor spaces of the park with exhibition of the works of studios, artists and independent entities in the visual arts. Among the exhibitors: Mattia Riami, Galleria Garance & Marion, BOLO Paper, Morsi Editore, Spritz srl, Omar Edous, Colorobe, Vichi Zorzi, Cartiera Clandestina, Elisa Marsigliante, Inchiostro Festival e Damiano Boldrini.
During the week the program will be structured with activities dedicated to schools, guided tours and workshops, and with a schedule of conferences and activities in collaboration with local partners:
Friday May 17 from 8.30 to 10.00 am the festival hosts the Creative Mornings community for an event dedicated to the theme “Vibrant”;
Tuesday May 21 from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm the talk New synergies for the evolution of the content supply chain in collaboration with the Turin Chamber of Commerce, Ceipiemonte and the Turin Industrial Union;
Thursday May 23 starting from 10.00am a portfolio review for the students of the Polytechnic of Turin and at 6.00pm the talk A kind of future: talking about people, design and words in collaboration with ADCI Art Directors Club Italiano and UNA Aziende della Comunicazione Unite.
The 2024 festival marks the start of an important partnership with BIG International Graphics Biennale of Milan (23-26 May): the collaboration, tested with the 2022 edition of the Milan Graphic Festival, is consolidated this year with an exchange of cultural contents and collaborations. The 2024 Signs exhibition promoted by the International Graphics Biennale will be exposed in both the events. At the same time, the works selected by Graphic DaysⓇ through the Neologia call, in the motion, poster and artificial intelligence categories will also be exhibited in Milan, as well as in Turin.
All the program on www.graphicdays.it/2024
