Valencian Design (2009-2019)

To think about contemporary society is also to think about the role played by the industrially produced object as a support for individual and collective meaning. The transformation in everyday objects has made design a critical element in the cultural anthropology of contemporary societies.

This exhibition outlines a walkthrough of product design in Valencia from 2009 until the present by means of a carefully chosen selection of around 170 works that mirror the complexity and experimental or innovative value of this field of design. Staging the exhibition in IVAM Alcoi can be seen as an homage to a city which was one of the centres of the industrial revolution in Spain in the late-nineteenth century, and indeed to the towns in the inland of the province of Alicante which have maintained a strong tradition in productive industry right up until the current moment in time. In this regard, the exhibition takes a look at product design understood in a broad sense, ranging from objects that shape the domestic sphere to objects conceived for the public space, as well as objects that enable meeting, working, or waiting outside the home.