Belgium is Design promotes Belgian design talent internationally and connects design professionals at key events and B2B meetings, from Brussels to Milan, via Paris and New York. In this respect, the Milan Design week is a key event for Belgium is Design.

For the first time in the history of Belgium is Design, the international design platform organized by Flanders DC, WBDM and MAD Brussels, over 30 designers and design studios are brought together for a joint exhibition during the Milan Design Week. Titled BOLD Dualities, the exhibition, curated by Baroness O., showcases local talent in a scenography by Karel Burssens. As the title suggests, it has become a bold, daring, and especially unconventional selection. The venue chosen is Baranzate Ateliers, an initiative by designer Lionel Jadot, which this year will have a new impressive location.

Cocono_Aztec

Despite Belgium being a small country with a complex historical and political struc- ture, its designers often exhibit humility, adaptability and ambiguity. These contra- dictions 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.

studiomatta (c)studiomatta 3 – Eva De Smet

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.

Belgium is Design – BOLD Dualities
Baranzate Ateliers
Via Gaudenzio Fantoli, 16
15 – 21 April | 10.00 am – 7.00 pm

www.belgiumisdesign.be

ph cover: Studio Biskt ©Silvia Cappellari_MAD – Charlotte Gigan