Through a series of objects and archive materials, the exhibition illustrates the ethical depth and great modernity of Italian entrepreneur Adriano Olivetti’s project.
The world tour of the exhibition ‘Universo Olivetti. Community as concrete utopia’, after Ekaterinburg, Berlino, Madrid and Matosinhos, arrives in Lisbon, where it will be exhibited from 7 Aprile to 30 May at the Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (Central Tejo).
Organized by the Italian Cultural Institute in Lisbon under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy, in collaboration with the MAAT, Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia of Portugal, the exhibition aims to deepen the knowledge of one of the most multifaceted and extraordinary figures in the history of Italian and world industry in XX century: Adriano Olivetti.
Son of Camillo Olivetti, founder of Ing.C. Olivetti & C. – the first Italian typewriter factory – Adriano was an entrepreneur, industrialist, publisher, intellectual and politician, social innovator and forerunner of urban planning.
Olivetti was able to combine the production process, social responsibility and attention to the urban space, creating, between 1930 and 1960, unique, innovative and avant-garde model, which revolutionized the entrepreneurial culture of its time, still recognized as one of the most advanced examples of sustainability.
The exhibition platform – featuring a graphically accurate layout of strong communication impact – allows the international audience access to the major issues surrounding the story of this italian enterprise: the industrial project, care for the territory, cultural services, welfare, social responsibility and urban planning; a business model that appears still today cutting-edge and exemplary from every point of view.
The exhibition tells the story of the Adriano’s project in all its aspects, dimensions and complexity, through four thematic areas: Factory, Culture and Image, City and Politics, Society. A gallery of graphic works, archival documents, photographic reproductions and reinterpretations, invites visitors to reflect again on the strong relevance of a figure such as Adriano Olivetti in modern times.
Olivetti’s legacy led Ivrea, the city where he developed his business, to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, confirming the universal value of his action, embodied in the idea of a community “materially beautiful and spiritually high”.
The exhibition is a project by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in collaboration with the MAXXI Foundation and the Adriano Olivetti Foundation, and curated by Pippo Ciorra, Matilde Trevisani and Francesca Limana.
