Identity and Territory. From Spain With Design

Although many times we may not notice, the design is present in everything that surrounds us, even in the most everyday objects. This is precisely what we are witnessing in the ongoing exhibition currently taking place at LABoral Center for Art and Industrial Creation in Gijón. Design, in its countless aspects, plays a central role in the sixth roaming of the acclaimed exhibition “From Spain With Design: Identity and Territory,” which began in October 2021. This extensive exploration of Spanish design in recent years has been successfully showcased in various locations, including Santiago de Compostela, Aveiro (Portugal), Murcia, Valencia, and Badajoz before arriving in Gijón on June 30.

“FSWD: Identity and Territory” brings to light the initiatives undertaken by Spanish professionals and encompasses various types of design, including industrial, graphic, interior, and service design. These design disciplines are presented in the exhibition, guided by five thematic axes: “Identity and territory,” “Intersections,” “Internationalization,” “Sustainability,” and “Complicity.” Under the umbrella of these themes, you can discover an array of diverse pieces, from furniture like chairs, sunshades, and lamps to everyday items such as knives, a modern take on a traditional orange box, a reusable bottle inspired by the botijo tradition, a life-saving defibrillator, and an innovative shopping cart designed to simplify our daily lives.

Furthermore, the exhibition features posters and projects with a strong focus on sustainability, such as Bolina, a chair designed by the young Galician Amalia Puga, created using fishing nets rescued with the help of the ‘redeiras’ from her hometown, A Guarda (Pontevedra). The exhibition boasts a remarkable lineup of Spanish designers, including Patricia Urquiola, Idoia Cuesta, Martín Azúa, Mayice Studio, Javier Jaén, Beltá Frajumar, Belén Moneo, and others, all contributing to the rich tapestry of “FSWD / Identity and Territory.”

The project focuses on the concepts of internationalization and export of the design sector, which will help to improve and enhance the prestige of Spain’s image abroad. From Spain With Design is a project that is conceived collaboratively in the National Design Meetings as a tool to project Spanish design at the international level.

FSWD is a project organized by READ with the collaboration of the Forum of Renowned Brands and funded by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Government of Spain and by the Xunta de Galicia.