By promoting Europeanism and celebrating cultural heritage, IED Roma is committed to integration and cooperation in the field of design
Editorial
#europeforculture
Date
15 November 2018
IED was founded in 1966 by Francesco Morelli, its president for a long time. The idea behind this revolutionary Institute was to “teach the ‘know-how’”, but the Europeanism implicit in the project, now more than ever the subject of debate, should not be overlooked.
“IED was founded in 1966 with one main idea: to create a school-workshop that combined theory and pragmatism. (...) At the time, it was an innovation to teach the ‘know-how’” (Francesco Morelli).
Along with the idea that “knowledge” and “know-how” must grow together, there was also Europe. In the 1960s, it represented that innovative and international vision that Francesco Morelli, in founding the Istituto Europeo di Design, wanted to include in the training of tomorrow’s designers.
Today, Europe faces complex issues, from Brexit to political crises. Feeling European is sometimes tricky. Perhaps it is still too early. In this direction, however, the European vision is among the most creative, being in constant ferment and movement.
Throughout 2018, Europe celebrated its rich cultural heritage at European, national, regional and local levels. On the occasion of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, IED Roma strengthens its ties with European companies and institutions in the name of the free circulation of ideas and projects. At the end of 2017, it hosted a speech by Jamshid Alamuti, an expert in personal and business development, disruptor and communicator of German origin, while in 2018 it participated with its students in festivals and competitions such as the Festival International de Photojournalisme in Perpignan.
With the Instituto Cervantes seat in Rome, numerous collaborations and opportunities for sharing and exchange have arisen in recent months, leading, for example, to the organisation of the exhibition “Letras & Marcas. Calligrafia & Branding di Ricardo Rousselot” (Letras & Marcas. Calligraphy & Branding by Ricardo Rousselot). On the occasion of the exhibition “Vagabondaggio e fotografia. Il mondo ispanico di Jesse A. Fernández” (Wandering and Photography. The Hispanic World of Jesse A. Fernández), the curator Fernando Castillo, with Giancarlo Possemato and Daria Scolamacchia, IED Lecturers, gave a lecture in which the students of the three-year Photography course also took part, subsequently involved in an exclusive guided tour of the exhibition.
The students of the Graphic Design, Motion Graphic and Sound Design courses also created the official trailer for the exhibition dedicated to the cinematography of Northern European countries, Nordic Film Fest 2018, under the guidance of Luigi Vernieri, Coordinator of Graphic Design and director of Special Projects at IED Roma.
The last edition of the Outdoor Festival instead celebrated the European Year of Cultural Heritage, choosing and investigating through artistic disciplines the cultural heritage: “The Heritage” (“The cultural heritage of the European Union is a rich and diverse mosaic of cultural and creative expressions, our inheritance from previous generations of Europeans and our legacy for those to come”).
In 2018, the Istituto Europeo di Design embraced the festival’s mission and confirmed its participation as Outdoor’s content partner. An interdisciplinary project involving students and lecturers from IED Roma between lectures, installations, and storytelling actions on social media was developed for the occasion.
This is another reason IED Roma continues and will continue after 2018 to support the participation of its students, lecturers and all its schools - Design, Fashion, Visual Arts and Communication - in European projects and events.
Author: Giada Vargiu
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