Valencia will be World Design Capital in 2022
READ is celebrating the designation of Valencia as World Design Capital 2022, a bid that received support from the Spanish Network of Designers Associations. For the second time in a row, a european city is chosen to showcase best practices in design. Great news for Spain and for the european design sector.
The jury of the World Design Organization (WDO) has announced its decision, an incomparable opportunity for the city to show the world the potential of Valencian design, its designers and companies, and the commitment of its institutions, thanks to this tool for social transformation and improvement.
WDO General Secretary Bertrand Derome said that the committee had placed great value on “the precision, rigour and professionalism” of Valencia’s candidature throughout the entire process, as well as the “cohesion and strength” of the sector.
“It is very noteworthy that this project has managed to bring together Valencian political groups and governments, to inspire professionals in all areas of design, in addition to attracting private companies from various sectors and arousing the interest of local, national and international media.” explains Xavi Calvo, strategic co-director of the candidacy.
For his part, Pau Rausell, also co-director of the candidacy, maintains that among many other factors, the designation of Valencia as World Design Capital is due to the fact that in recent decades “a series of design, architecture and graphic illustration professionals from different generations have concentrated in Valencia, each one capable of projecting themselves and having a presence at a national and global level”.
“Based on our knowledge and analysis, we are fully convinced of the capacity of design to accelerate the processes of social transformation and to ensure that Valencia embraces the opportunity, through design, to reinforce its commitment to the community and to redefine the meaning of collective action for a better world”, Rausell emphasises.
Valencia’s candidacy, articulated around the slogan “The Mediterranean design of Valencia. Design for change, design for the senses”, defends a way of looking that has geographical, but also aesthetic, ethical, philosophical and political implications.
Cities that have been designated World Design Capital in previous years include Turin in 2008, Seoul in 2010, Helsinki in 2012, Cape Town in 2014, Taipei in 2016, Mexico City in 2018 and Lille, which is currently getting ready for 2020.
The Valencia WDC 2022 candidature is a project of the Associació València Capital Mundial del Disseny supported by the Valencia City Council, the Presidency of the Autonomous Government of Valencia, the Valencia Tourist Board, the Valencia Trade Fair and the Valencia Marina.