Exhibition: Nordic Table Design. A Silent Women’s Revolution (1900-1970)
20 June 2026 - 10 January 2027
The exhibition scheduled from June 20 to January 10, 2027 presents approximately forty-five women designers, artists and intellectuals from the period between 1900 and 1970, telling a new story of design, made up of multiple voices, against the backdrop of the struggle for equal rights.
It traces the work and working conditions of these women who, with a humanistic and typically feminine approach to design and direct knowledge of domestic needs, carried out a “silent revolution” in the way of conceiving the table and, more generally, in women’s lives.
They redesigned plates, glasses, pots and cutlery, making them more functional and economical without ever sacrificing beauty; they experimented with new materials, colors and shapes, according to the principle of the Modern Movement in which “form follows function”.
A large number of high-quality artistic pieces, partly in production, on loan from companies, partly historical pieces from private collections and museums, describes the creative activity and working conditions of seventy years of women’s design of tableware. The exhibited artifacts testify to how table design represented much more than a simple aesthetic or functional pursuit: an authentic laboratory of social experimentation, capable of redefining domestic roles, family relationships and cultural models.
There is a special connection with the Faenza Prize, International Ceramic Art Competition: from 1964 to 1974, the section dedicated to industrial design was active, with honorary prizes, gold medals from the President of the Republic, the Senate and the Chamber.
Many Nordic manufacturers with women designers participated consistently: among these, numerous prizes were awarded to Grete Ronning, Marianne Westman, Rut Bryk, Hertha Bengtson to mention some of the best-known names. These award-winning artifacts are part of the MIC Faenza collection and will be displayed in a dedicated section of the exhibition.
This exhibition intends to retrace a fundamental moment in European design, Faenza’s connection, through essential silent protagonists.
From June 23 to July 28, at 6:00 PM, every Tuesday guided aperitif tour of the exhibition.
Admission 3 euros, in addition to the ticket price. Reservation required. The tour is held only upon reaching a minimum of 10 registered participants.
Read more at
www.micfaenza.org
