Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker (left); Italian Ambassador to Qatar, Alessandro Prunas (second right) along with other officials attending the opening of Italian Design Day 2022 exhibition at Msheireb Downtown Doha.
The Italian Design Day 2022 exhibition was launched yesterday at Doha Design District at Msheireb with the theme “Beauty, Sustainability, Innovation: Design as a bridge between Qatar and Italy Exhibition.”
The event was attended by Qatar Tourism Chairman and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker; Italian Ambassador to Qatar, H E Alessandro Prunas, along with other officials from Msheireb Properties and the Italian and Qatari communities.
In a statement, the Ambassador said the event will bring the annual celebration to the next level. “We have planned to involve all the relevant actors of the Italian design industry in Qatar, starting from the showrooms and the brands to comprehend entire architectural projects,” he added.
“But our efforts will not constitute a floating island: our project is integrated in Doha’s vibrant creative scene, thanks to the collaboration with Doha Design District, Msheireb Properties, and Qatar Creates. I would particularly like to thank H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani for her vision and support.”
The exhibit is curated by Giampiero Peia, where he said that the aim of the Design Day is to strengthen the cultural legacy to build further collaborations between Qatar and Italy and their institutions in education, feeding cultural events and business opportunities. “This exhibition represents the great bond developed in recent years between Qatar and Italy, also through design.”
Peia emphasised that the Italian Design Day, in the year of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is an opportunity “to provide a bolder statement of an effective legacy, a cultural bridge connecting Italy, with its design institutions together with Qatar, with its own cultural and educational institutions.”
He explained that it is also aimed to promote a debate regarding the role of sustainable design between experts and citizens, architects and students, and brands and institutions, adding that the exhibit is an opportunity to work in direct synergy with the Italian brands already in Doha. The exhibition features 55 projects which include Italian design products by the brands of Doha Design District, prototypes, iconic and historical piece by the design pioneers, sample of two presented projects, “Where Italy Meets Qatar” (Hamad International Airport wherein the interior designer is Italian Antonio Citterio and United Nations General Assembly Hall XIX in Geneva, a donation of the State of Qatar), ideas and products related to Internet of things, and sustainable design.
There are also two screens broadcasting the said two projects, brands and their products, interviews and video links and films regarding the design.
The exhibit located at the Doha Design District Atrium will be open until March 30, from 9am to 9pm.
