Alessia Del Corona: 5VIE’s Piazza Gorani

The 5VIE Art + Design initiative is relocating its cultural production centre to the newly reopened Piazza Gorani, and presenting the Foyer Gorani exhibition during Milan Design Week. Curated by Federica Sala, the exhibition features the work of four young designers whose work recognises the importance of research, analysis of materials, and linking the past and present: Philipp Weber in collaboration with Spazio Nobile Gallery, Brussels; Sigve Knutson in collaboration with Carwan Gallery, Beirut; Sabine Marcelis; and Matteo Cibic.

Since 2014, 5VIE Art + Design has quickly distinguished itself. The non-profit cultural association was founded by Emanuele Tessarolo, Aline Radice Fossati, Ernesta del Cogliano and Alessia Del Corona to promote Milan Old Town. TLmag spoke to Del Corona about 5VIE’s new endeavours.

TLmag: As co-founder, why did you set up 5VIE Art + Design in Milan?
Alessia Del Corona: 5VIE Art + Design is the result of a very simple idea: relaunching the original Milan Old Town because it was experiencing a difficult moment. With this purpose, 5VIE is a cultural and territorial marketing project conceived for the strategic implementation of territorial and urban policies through the creation of a strong brand identity, and new communication and sustainable development strategies. Our objectives include promoting cultural heritage, safeguarding artisan activities, discovering and offering access to lesser-known places, relaunching local commercial activities, promoting exceptional activities, fostering innovative projects, and being part of national and international networks.

How have you implemented your network of people and places throughout the years?
Hard to believe: word of mouth and door to door!

What is the meaning of producing the installations at Foyer Gorani curated by Federica Sala and other partners?
We believe that producing means creating content. It is an opportunity to give value to the area and to become a protagonist of Fuori Salone – by carefully selecting projects and by paying attention to the specific area – and not just a mere events’ container. Over the past few years, we have drawn attention to the abandoned area of Spazio Sanremo, where we organised the exhibitions of Maarten Baas (2014), Max Lamb (2015) and Raw Edges (2016). Now we want to go further with developing, accentuating, building up and relaunching a new area. That is why this year the 5VIE cultural production centre has been moved to the brand new, even if very ancient, Piazza Gorani, for a kind of ‘cultural inauguration’.

This is where 5VIE has produced the project Foyer Gorani, a curated design piazza by Federica Sala/PS. Foyer Gorani concerns the projects and the styles of four international talents, which are very different from each other but who share a common, spontaneous approach and research into materials. These include the new Drawn to Production collection by Norwegian designer Sigve Knutson (in collaboration with the Carwan Gallery), a retrospective of the most recent work by Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis, and a tribute to the artistic research of Dutch designer Philipp Weber (in collaboration with Spazio Nobile Gallery, Brussels). Moreover, 5VIE co-produced the Vaso Naso project by Matteo Cibic, which brings to light his year-long semiological research efforts into ceramic shapes.

How are your activities financed?
Through sponsors, grants, and communication consultancies, plus a small fee from the commercial activities of the area that are taking part in the Milan Design Week. The Italian cultural enterprise sector is still behind. It is a hard job, but we love challenges!

What’s the impact of 5VIE on Milan’s inhabitants?
The main objective is to promote local development by meeting the needs of the many stakeholders, by connecting and fostering the active participation of the community and of local professionals, in order to implement a network of skilled agents and to create new opportunities. Thanks to the work of the past few years, including building a strong brand identity and using a new communication strategy, many streets are now urban projects of international interest. We act local with the hope to be global at the same time.