DAE in Milan: Intergenerational Design Show paints a picture of an evolving industry

From 7-12 June, the Intergenerational Graduation Show on Milan’s Via Vincenzo Monti brought together 150 projects from the 1960s until now. In doing so, it illustrated some of the significant shifts in design education – and the industry itself – that have taken place since the school was founded 75 years ago.

While many of the earlier projects focused on process – including those produced under the school’s previous identity as Akademie voor Industriële Vormgeving (AIVE) – more recent work revealed how concerns about politics and social engagement were impacting student work.

“Design itself has changed, moving beyond the term ‘industrial’ as a qualifier to embrace new needs, new technologies and new ideas about what is needed in the world,” said DAE Creative Director Joseph Grima. “The early graduates of AIVE would probably have struggled to even imagine the creations their peers at DAE routinely conceive today. Yet for all the differences, equally compelling are the many forms of continuity that connect the work of designers across generations at this school.”

Rather than being curated in the traditional sense, the exhibition was organised through an open call, inviting all DAE alumni from the school’s 75-year history to submit their graduation projects if they still had them.

The final 150 that travelled to Milan ran the gamut from the small and personal to the large-scale and communal. 

While some of the designers featured have gone on to be world-famous and regular names at Milan design week, others have moved into other areas since graduating or are just at the beginning of their careers. Regardless of their status, the works were presented at the same level, side-by-side.

The oldest piece in the exhibition was an experimental tapestry from 1965 by Bertina Kærager, made out of sheep’s wool, which took over a year to complete. In sharp contrast, more recent work included a barbed wire fence used as an antenna to transmit morse code on the Georgian and Russian border by 2019 graduate Irakli Sabekia.

Other works revealed the roots of individual designer’s practices, such as Bart Hess’ presentation of conceptual textiles and animals from 2007 and Sarah Roseman’s glass material samples from 2021 that appear like woven textiles. These projects were harder to place historically, showing how some designers’ vision has taken on a life of its own.

The exhibition was staged in Milan as part of the world’s most important annual design fair, which is regularly attended by a wide range of DAE alumni and educators.

The exhibition culminated with an event for DAE alumni, attended by 250 people from all over the world, including former teaching staff and graduates from as far back as the 1960s. Alumnus Giulia Soldati, whose graduation work in 2016 included a project around bread, created a food installation with breads from around the world while fellow alumnus Jobina Tinnemans created a sound-based performance.

Photos are by Federico Floriani.