Milano, March 27, 2025 – In conjunction with the Milano Design Week, Fabbrica del Vapore reaffirms its commitment to promoting contemporary design, art, and music with the second edition of “FABBRICA DESIGN WEEK” (April 8-13). The event features a series of exhibitions and installations dedicated to project experimentation and research, alongside a music festival showcasing some of the most intriguing artists from the international electronic scene.
Fabbrica del Vapore will offer 5,000 square meters of covered exhibition space for “Brave New World,” the chosen title that gathers all of the exhibition projects at Fabbrica del Vapore. This initiative serves as a hub for universities, schools, associations, collectives, and independent designers, complemented by an additional 5,000 square meters of outdoor space where the musical festival will resonate.
Some spaces will be accessible during Milano Art Week (April 1-6), while others will debut during Design Week, demonstrating the necessity of collaboration among professionals and curators who share a common goal: to follow critical analysis of the present with a visionary perspective that opens the imagination.
The electronic music festival, conceived by DJ, producer, and cultural promoter Lele Sacchi along with event producer Eric Galiani, returns for a second year. The artistic proposal, offered free to the public, includes two outdoor stages featuring prominent electronic music figures such as Richie Hawtin, Chloé Caillet, Quest, Lele Sacchi, Ti Es, Hiver, Toy Tonics Jam featuring Kapote, Sam Ruffillo, Fimiani, and Zsa Zsa.
During FDW 2025, Fabbrica del Vapore will host an archival research exhibition and a solo show dedicated to a young contemporary artist. “Nanda Vigo. Sineddoche d’archivio. Arte, architettura, design, performance dagli archivi del CASVA” will showcase the extensive multidisciplinary work of artist, designer, and architect Nanda Vigo. The CASVA (Centro Alti Studi sulle Arti Visive del Comune di Milano) will present a path that unfolds through archival documents and loaned objects, highlighting her contributions to the artistic and design landscape. This exhibition is supported by the Lombardy Archives Superintendency, which oversaw the inventory of the archive, an essential contribution to activating the research process.
In the expansive space of Cattedrale, Francesco Panozzo presents the solo exhibition “Possible Alternatives to the Looming Dystopia,” which aligns with the thematic exploration of Brave New World. This exhibition begins with the work “Anthological Interactions,” which focuses on reinterpreting human knowledge through the interaction of various bee families with a historic Treccani encyclopedia. The exhibition investigates the relationship between humanity and nature, conceptualizing the latter as an intelligence to be supported rather than dominated. Initially presented online in 2020 due to the pandemic, this work returns to Fabbrica del Vapore, expanded to deepen the dialogue between humanity, nature, and time.
At the core of the exhibition lies the Kohèlet, a biblical text evoking the idea of an assembly ready to listen. The daily labor and the lightness of the wind carrying the dust of the world become key elements in Panozzo’s artistic research, evoking a possible balance between the present and future perspectives.
The Polimi Design System from the Politecnico di Milano reaffirms its presence at Fabbrica Design Week with the exhibition “INTERDEPENDENCE – Exploring Opposites.” Involving 50 international schools, this exhibition reflects on the interdependence of opposites. The Naples Academy of Fine Arts will also be present with the exhibition “ON AIR,” showcasing the most significant areas of the Academy’s action.
Among the associations, the female representation of DcomeDesign continues with the exhibition “REVEAL – Projects and Unpublished Prototypes by Women Designers.” This exhibition celebrates the creativity and innovation of women designers and architects, displaying unpublished projects and prototypes.
Also focused on the female experience is the exhibition by Connecting Cultures titled “DOTE FEMMINILE” – a project by Denise Bonapace and Margherita Mazza, stemming from a desire to reinvent the ideological and material content of what was once known as the “trousseau.”
ANAB – TerraMigakiDesign presents “RIS-VOLTI MATERICI,” a project dedicated to themes of sustainability and raw earth. The Festival Architettura III proposes “METAMORPHOSIS – TRANSFORMING ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE,” a project intended to offer a vision capable of merging the fantastic dimension of science with the experimental aspect of research.
OPOS brings the project “OPOS carries Grandfather into the City, from Certosa to the Center of Milan” to Fabbrica del Vapore, an original experiment to discuss the challenges of ethical, conscious, and sustainable consumption. Studio Azzurro presents “ENVIRONMENTAL MEETINGS,” showcasing the maquette for the exhibition on styles of the body.
Cristina Balma Tivola will show a contextualized exhibition of ethnographic objects and illustrated boards created for the book “MIRABILIA. A Journey Around the World in 80 Objects.”
Independent designers Lorenzo Damiani will present “ABOUT WOOD – Tales of Projects in Wood,” while Studio Nucleo will bring to life its Material Archive, a physical archive collecting decades of research on materials. Giulio Matteo Mansi, Pietro Avolio, and Gianluca Falsetti will present “FOR A PROCESS,” an event that combines exhibition, debates, and performances to explore design in a radical and inclusive manner. The courtyard of Fabbrica del Vapore becomes the ideal setting for a six-day festival where music and design intersect for the second year.
FDW Music Festival 2024
New this year is the presence of two stages, with a program encompassing various facets of electronic music, featuring international DJs and notable artists from the Milanese scene, performing from afternoon until night. Among those to highlight are Canadian artist Richie Hawtin (one of the world’s most important producers and DJs), multifaceted DJ Chloé Caillet (a dynamic force in the global dance scene), Italian Quest (who has gained a reputation as a maniacal digger and sublime selector), and Lele Sacchi, recognized internationally as one of the icons of the Italian electronic house and alternative scene, serving as the musical soul of Fabbrica Design Week. Milan’s Ti Es (known for dynamic sets and enthralling journeys through electronic soundscapes) and the Italian DJ duo HIVER (composed of Giuseppe Albrizio and Sergio Caio, who have combined their classical music training to create a unique project in the electronic music landscape) are also part of the lineup, along with TOY TONICS JAM (the German label of funky house and broken beats featuring Kapote joined by Sam Ruffillo, Fimiani, and Zsa Zsa). New collaborations with Panorama, a festival that reopened the Cave del Duca, a natural stage in Lecce for a three-day electronic music event in August, will manage the lineup for one of the festival evenings.
In the backdrop, an innovative set design crafted for the occasion will envelop the space in a vortex of lights and colors, featuring an immersive room and visual art at its center.
The partnership with Radio m2o has also been renewed, a key reference for music, trends, and pop culture in Italy. Since 2019, under the artistic direction of Albertino, the station has developed a strong and distinct musical identity. It is a dynamic, ever-evolving, contemporary, and avant-garde radio where the audience recognizes itself as a community, both on FM and online.