Venice: city of merchants, craftsmen...and creative people
Magic, romantic, unique: Venice attracts millions of tourists from all over the world. And waiting for them are not only the most famous monuments, countless churches, museums and art galleries. There are also many events that liven up this beautiful city throughout the year. The Carnival, the Biennale and the Film Festival are certainly the most anticipated and popular events worldwide, but there are other notable shows and cultural events.
When the summer heat is forgotten and the curtain falls on the film festival, the city is still lively and the programme is packed with events. After the international celebrities have passed along the red carpet on the Lido it’s time for the GlassWeek, a week dedicated to the age-old Venetian glass art. Closely followed by an event that combines craft traditions with the creativity etched in the DNA of a city that, since its origins, made its hallmark from the urge to mix and blend.
Perhaps not everyone knows that in October Venice also has a Design Week! That’s right, now in its thirteenth year the Venice Design Week is a wide-ranging event that allows us to discover small craftsmen, artists and ateliers in hidden corners of the city.
The paths of Design in Venice
Among the alleys and canals there is a microcosm of creative people, ceramic ateliers, emerging designers and showrooms sometimes concealed right next to the main tourist routes.
In the Island of Giudecca, for example, there is the workshop of two young artists that make sculptures and fine metal jewels and in a small studio between Ca’ d’oro and Strada Nova you can see the wood craftsman who carves oars and “forcole”. You can discover exclusive limited editions of design ceramics a few steps from the Arsenale and it is also possible to visit an historical manufacturer of fabrics still produced today with ancient looms. If this is still not enough, maybe you’ll be amazed to know that even the Japanese art of origami is present in Venice!
In short, the paths of design are multiple: all you need is a bit of curiosity and the desire to explore to realize that the city hosts many small creative wonders.
Venice, crossroad of merchants at the time of the Serenissima, place of craftsmen and ancient crafts is more and more becoming a meeting point for art and design lovers.
Venice Design Week 2022
The design festival that take place from 1st to 9th October is spread in different locations of the city and utilizes the spaces of galleries, hotels and even the charming cloister of a former convent. The Venice Design Week has a dual function: for the public it’s the occasion to take part in routes and guided tours to discover crafts and local culture, for the designers it becomes an extraordinary stage to present their products.
For the 2022 edition the selected theme is Origins: a journey into creativity from slow design to sustainability. The participants are asked to present innovative designs focused on human needs, by incorporating modern technologies with local creations. It thus stimulates the capacity to invent a new object with an attentive eye to the environment, a topical subject especially for such a fragile and complicated reality as Venice.
So we’re talking about spaces and people. The Light Tour will include different areas of the city and will introduce new places and original light installations, while a calendar of events will allow the public to meet the designers and to learn the stories of their projects.
Lastly, this year for the long-awaited appointment with VDW Jewellery Selection, the jury selected 13 incredible jewels from among more than 100 projects offered by over eighty designers from all over the globe: you will have the opportunity to see them on display throughout the month of October at Ca’ Pisani Deco Design Hotel.
What are you waiting for? Check the Venice Design Week 2022 program of meetings, talks and guided tours and get ready to discover a creative and unexpected Venice.
Photo credits: Venice Design Week
