The involvement of the most fragile communities

Fifty years later, the exhibition curated by the art critic Luca Beatrice tells in particular the four years that contributed to the research focused on the encounter between design, pedagogy, art and craftsmanship, focused on involving the most vulnerable communities also with a view to human development through collaboration , active participation and the potential for creativity.

Stimulating social change through planning

The designer and architect's relationship with the neighborhood began in 1969, when encouraged street children to design, free from the inhibitory effects of the educational system, small furnishings and architectural elements with simple materials such as wood, twine and metal wire. The aim of provoking a socio-educational redemption testifies to the anthropological approach that characterized the design instances of the time: as a design tool, Dalisi kept a diary and took photographs to document the activities that took place to Trajan and that he himself defined with the term animation, or those operations in which the design moment was configured as a tool capable of arousing interest, participation and collective spirit to stimulate social change through planning.

Vintage images and videos in the Trajan District

The exhibition at the Circolo del Design presents a first environment in which to immerse yourself in the Trajan district of the time through the evocative images created during the experience in the district. In this way, the designer's life and the salient points that characterized the history and culture of Italy in those years are retraced.

Among the photos from the Riccardo Dalisi Archive that testify to the life and atmosphere in the district, an original video of the time documents the work process that led to the creation of numerous artifacts.

Products born from laboratories animated by a collective spirit

The second room displays the products created during the experience, coming from the Museo Madre and the Riccardo Dalisi Archive, born from the creativity of children of the Neapolitan district led by Dalisi and his students through workshops aimed at arousing interest, participation and collective spirit. Embroideries, small seats made with recycled materials, drawings and sketches, aerial models of twine, paper and wood, maquette of the Asilo Traiano, papier-mâché thrones up to the object that allowed the designer to win the Compass d'Oro: the reinterpretation of the famous Neapolitan coffee maker for Officina Alessi.