madelabs

MADE Labs, the educational initiative of the @madeprogram IS BACK! ARTE SELLA Borgo Valsugana (Trento), 13 – 17 July 2026 TECHNO-CRAFT When minds and hands meet. Workshops and Lectures with: @jacques_averna @agostinoiacurci @alisonmartin57 2026 SPECIAL EDITION AT ARTE SELLA! The joint Summer School organized by MADE Program and Arte Sella is based on the concept of “Techno-Craft,” which involves directly linking theoretical training in technology and science with hands-on craftsmanship. All too often, in fact, these two aspects have been separated by cultural legacies that are now completely outdated and fossilized within educational frameworks that have even viewed them as opposites. On the contrary, the most recent experimental research is moving toward overcoming these barriers. Just consider—to give one example—that high-performance technological materials such as carbon fibers have applications entirely comparable to those of textile tailoring and papier-mâché. The Summer School course offers participants the opportunity to engage with techniques and concepts, transcending the disciplinary boundaries that still constrain much academic research. Utilizing local resources, both in terms of hospitality and technical partnerships, the school’s workshops will be organized around complementary themes, also aligning with the expertise of the lead instructors. Participants will be able to choose one of three design workshops, which will lead to the creation of prototypes, artifacts, artworks, and products, while also taking part in lectures and meetings open to all working groups. SEVERAL SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE! For info and applications: madelabs.it [email protected]

MADE Labs, the educational initiative of the @madeprogram IS BACK! ARTE SELLA Borgo Valsugana (Trento), 13 – 17 July 2026 TECHNO-CRAFT When minds and hands meet. 5-day workshop . @jacques_averna Wind as a signal . @agostinoiacurci Gardening, Shaping the Landscape . @alisonmartin57 Shadow Architectures Curated by @domitilladardi SEVERAL SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE! For info and applications: madelabs.it [email protected]

MADE Labs, the educational initiative of the @madeprogram IS BACK! ARTE SELLA Borgo Valsugana (Trento), 13 – 17 July 2026 TECHNO-CRAFT When minds and hands meet. Workshops and Lectures with: @jacques_averna @agostinoiacurci @alisonmartin57 10 SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE!!! Thanks to the support of its partners, MADE LABS and ARTE SELLA are able to offer 10 scholarships for students worth €300 (workshop fee for scholarship recipients: €350). If you plan to apply for one of the available scholarships, you must send to [email protected]: ▪︎ short CV (one page maximum); ▪︎ a letter of motivation, indicating the workshop they want to participate in, and a possible second choice (for those cases in which the available places within the indicated course have already been filled); ▪︎ artistic portfolio (optional, PDF format, maximum 2 megabytes). The material must be sent no later than midnight (CET) on June 10th, 2026. For info and applications: madelabs.it [email protected]

MADE Labs, the educational initiative of the @madeprogram IS BACK! ARTE SELLA Borgo Valsugana (Trento), 13 – 17 July 2026 TECHNO-CRAFT When minds and hands meet. Workshops and Lectures with: @jacques_averna @agostinoiacurci @alisonmartin57 2026 SPECIAL EDITION AT ARTE SELLA! For more than thirty years Arte Sella has been synonymous with art in nature, a unique creative workshop in Italy and in the world, where art has woven a continuous dialogue with the surprising nature of the Val di Sella, a side valley of the Valsugana, in Trentino. Hundreds of international artists have alternated over time, invited to interpret the spirit of the place and to return to look at the works of art in continuous transformation. The works created by these artists are characterized by the ability to preserve their own recognizable but not alien physiognomy, for a different arrangement with respect to time, which is no longer the rectilinear and conventional history of art, but, perishable, according to the natural mutations of the seasons. Since its foundation in 1986, Arte Sella has evolved by interpreting its role as a creative forge listening to nature and placing itself as a powerful tool initially available to a small Alpine community, later to a much wider world, to imagine possible future scenarios and possible dynamics of the man-nature relationship. In the aftermath of the Chernobyl tragedy the need to find a way to restore a new balance with nature was immediately born: at Arte Sella this need has declined, over the course of thirty-five years, through the gaze and vision of more than three hundred artists who, having abandoned the role of absolute protagonists of the creative act, have joined nature, their ally in the creation and transformation of the work. Over time at Arte Sella, art in nature, music, dance, photography, poetry and literature have found a place for research and common reflection. Their vision will continue to investigate the complexity of the contemporaneity in which we are immersed. SEVERAL SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE! For info and applications: madelabs.it [email protected]

MADE Labs, the educational initiative of the @madeprogram IS BACK! ARTE SELLA Borgo Valsugana (Trento), 13 – 17 July 2026 TECHNO-CRAFT When minds and hands meet. Workshops and Lectures with: @jacques_averna @agostinoiacurci @alisonmartin57 This year, the initiative will be curated by @Domitilladardi . Domitilla is an Italian design historian and curator. After the degree in Art History and a PhD in History and Criticism of Architecture, from 2003 to 2007 she was professor of History of Industrial Design and Contemporary Art History in the Department of Architecture of Ascoli Piceno University. From 2007 to 2023 she was the Design Curator at MAXXI Museum in Rome. Since 2019 she is the co-founder and curator of EDIT Napoli, international fair of independent design. In 2016 and 2017 she curated “Object”, the collectible design section of Miart - Modern and Contemporary Art Fair in Milan. Since 2007 she has been professor of History of Design at IED in Rome, and she taught as Visiting Professor in several universities such as at Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Made Program in Siracuse. She curated several exhibitions, such as: “Alcantara-MAXXI Project” (from 2011 to date, with Giulio Cappellini), “Universo Rietveld” (MAXXI Rome, 2012, with Maristella Casciato and Ida van Zjil), “Gaetano Pesce. Il tempo della diversità” (MAXXI Rome 2014), “Temporanea. Studio Formafantasma” (Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Paris, 2015), “100x100 Achille” (Fondazione Achille Castiglioni, Milan, 2018, with Chiara Alessi). She is contributor of several design magazines such as Domus, Icon Design. Her books include: Achille Castiglioni (Testo e Immagine, 2001), Il Design di Alberto Meda. Una concreta leggerezza (Electa, 2005), Design in 100 objects (Federico Motta editore, 2008), Eero Saarinen (24orecultura, 2012, 2013) and Design History Handbook (with Vanni Pasca, Silvana Editoriale, 2019), “Playgrounding” (Corraini 2022), the trilogy “Herbaria”, “Bestiaria” and “Mineralia” (24Ore Cultura, 2022-2025) and the recent “Cucire universi” (Einaudi, 2026). Several scholarships available! For info and applications: www.madelabs.it [email protected]

MADE Labs, the educational initiative of the @madeprogram , curated this year by Domitilla Dardi, IS BACK with a SPECIAL EDITION held at @artesella , in Borgo Valsugana (Trento)! One week of workshops from the 13th to the 17th of July 2026. STAY TUNED! TECHNO-CRAFT When minds and hands meet The joint Summer School organized by MADE Program and Arte Sella is based on the concept of “Techno-Craft,” which involves directly linking theoretical training in technology and science with hands-on craftsmanship. All too often, in fact, these two aspects have been separated by cultural legacies that are now completely outdated and fossilized within educational frameworks that have even viewed them as opposites. On the contrary, the most recent experimental research is moving toward overcoming these barriers. Just consider—to give one example—that high-performance technological materials such as carbon fibers have applications entirely comparable to those of textile tailoring and papier-mâché. The Summer School course offers participants the opportunity to engage with techniques and concepts, transcending the disciplinary boundaries that still constrain much academic research. Utilizing local resources, both in terms of hospitality and technical partnerships, the school’s workshops will be organized around complementary themes, also aligning with the expertise of the lead instructors. Participants will be able to choose one of three design workshops, which will lead to the creation of prototypes, artifacts, artworks, and products, while also taking part in lectures and meetings open to all working groups. Several scholarships available! Info and application on madelabs.it e-mail: [email protected] @artesella @domitilladardi @jacques_averna @agostinoiacurci @alisonmartin57 #madelabs #madeprogram #artesella #mind #hands #borgovalsugana #mountain #school #landart #hospitality #craftsmanship #summerschool #summerprogram #summer #workshops #workshop #design #art #architecture #designer #artist #visual #creativity

For MADE Labs 2025, Alexandra Midal—curator and design theorist—selected a special program of films by designers, for designers. @alexandramidal Exploring the visible and the invisible, these screenings celebrate film as an experimental language: a way to tell stories, transmit ideas, and inspire creativity, even with the simplest tools. From Lillian Gilbreth’s visionary gaze to Moholy-Nagy’s experimental approach, from the poetic narratives of Ray & Charles Eames to Noam Toran’s object-languages, these films reveal how design and cinema have always been intertwined. Abstract, fictional, political, or experimental—film is a tool for thinking, seeing, and designing differently. The video screening sessions were made possible thanks to the support of the Digital Education Hubs (DEH) project, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU 🇪🇺✨. Special thanks to Biblios Cafe and La Barca for their collaboration ~ @labarcaortigia @biblios_cafe #MADELabs #VideoScreenings #DesignFilm #ExperimentalDesign #CuratedByAlexandraMidal #DesignThinking #MADEProgram #NextGenerationEU

🕯️ Ceroplastica 🕯️
 workshop led by Jenna Kaës During the Ceroplastica workshop, students explored the ancient art of wax modeling, a craft deeply rooted in Sicilian ritual traditions. From molding to direct sculpture and coloring, wax was rediscovered as a living, symbolic material—fragile, luminous, and full of meaning. The workshop ended with a collective ritual: the votive wax sculptures made by the students were carried in procession through the streets of Ortigia, sparking curiosity and wonder among passersby. 👉 If you want to know more about the project, visit madelabs.it This workshop was made possible thanks to the support of the Digital Education Hubs (DEH) project, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. 🇪🇺✨ #madelabs #siracusa #design #madeprogram #sicily #eufunded #nextgenerationeu

⚽️ Beyond the Game with Nathalie Opris ⚽️ What happens when the designer and the curator merge into one? In this interview, Nathalie Opris shares her reflections on Beyond the Game, a workshop that invited students to explore the intersection of exhibition design and curatorial practice through the lens of sport. From visiting the stadium of Syracuse to working through concepts of identity, inclusion, and innovation, participants developed their own visions for how sport can be narrated in exhibitions. With the support of guest lectures by Gemma Redgrave (AKQA), Anna Titovets (Intektra), and Konstantin Greic, the workshop became an arena for experimenting with new forms of storytelling. 👉🏼 If you want to know more about the project, visit madelabs.it This workshop was made possible thanks to the support of the Digital Education Hubs (DEH) project, funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU. 🇪🇺✨ #madelabs #siracusa #design #exhibition #sport #madeprogram #workshops #eufunded #nextgenerationeu

👂 Horton Hears a Who! 👂 a workshop led by Olivier Lebrun @olivierlebrun Inspired by Dr. Seuss’ story of Horton the Elephant, students created a radio station to broadcast their presence as a community. For five days they moved through Syracuse — from the Ear of Dionysius to the market — collecting sounds, voices, and stories. The result was a radio publication on SoundCloud, accompanied by an exhibition of individual works, where students translated the collected stories into personal visual projects. This workshop was made possible thanks to the support of the Digital Education Hubs (DEH) project, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. 🇪🇺✨ #radio #publication #curating #design #interview #fieldrecording #madelabs #madeprogram #siracusa #eufunded #nextgenerationeu

This year’s MADE Labs were made possible thanks to the support of the Digital Education Hubs (DEH) project, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Thanks to these funds, we have the opportunity to create, to boost digital education, and to foster more inclusive, innovative, and future-oriented learning opportunities. #euproject #madelabs #nextgenerationeu #madeprogram

✨ Mosaics: Back to the Future ✨ With over 6,000 years of history, from Mesopotamia to today, the mosaic has never gone out of style. It remains a fascinating technique—figurative or abstract, decorative or utilitarian—constantly reinvented through new materials and technologies. In this video, Robert Stadler shares his reflections on the importance of mosaics today, a medium that straddles the line between two and three dimensions and is deeply rooted in the Sicilian landscape. Sicily’s mosaics are particularly interesting because they embody this in-between condition, while still being the focus of research and innovation for companies working with new materials. Thanks to Nerosicilia, participants had the opportunity to visit and experience first-hand innovative applications of this technique. The company works with Etna lava stone, recycled materials, and advanced eco-sustainable techniques to reinvent mosaics for contemporary design. This workshop was made possible thanks to the support of the Digital Education Hubs (DEH) project, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. 🇪🇺✨ #madelabs #siracusa #design #sicily #workshops #madeprogram #mosaics