A coffee with the designer: Christmas Design's podcast

My name is Federica and today coffee is on me, together with Christmas Design. We're having it with the players of the exhibition that brings art to the squares of Bergamo, from November 25, 2023 to January 7, 2024. "A coffee with the designer" is a podcast as light as a chat in a bar: use it as an audio guide if you are in Bergamo during the event. Anyway, well, listen to it, because a coffee break in the company of creative people is always a good idea! 

There are 16 + 1 episodes: one for each installation, plus an introductory one in which the organizers introduce the event and tell its genesis. 

The right intuition, a hint of recklessness, a few allies ready to take risks, et voila: the event is served.

Maurizio Vegini, artistic director of Christmas Design, and Nicola Viscardi, manager of DUC (Distretto Urbano del Commercio di Bergamo) tell how the exhibition that brings art in in the streets and squares of Bergamo was born, closing the year of Bergamo Brescia 2023 Capital of Culture with a bang. Together with the two creators of the event, Mayor Giorgio Gori explains why he believed in this cultural project.

A pink-colored bus travels the streets of Bergamo, surprising and bringing a smile to everyone's face. Interview with Peter Fink, the creative who conceived it, and Liliana Donato, general manager of the public transport company that provided the vehicle.

A video installation to promote the meeting of cultures, with the help of AI. Interview with Ettore Frunzio of Dugongo, the designer who conceived it together with his creative team.

A monumental candle made of different luminous devices shines in the outdoor area of a historic pastry shop in Bergamo. Artist Santo Tolone, author of the work, and Riccardo Schiavi, owner of La Pasqualina, talk about its genesis and deep meaning.

The classic Nativity is transformed into an interactive installation and invites the viewer to reflect on the values of family, integration and Christmas. Artist Steven Cavagna and the commissioner, Simone Maffeis of Fra.Mar, talk about it in this interview.

There are wooden benches arranged in a circle around a fire. Sit down. Close your eyes. Travel as far as your imagination can take you. Interview with architects Angelo Micheli and Banaf Razavi, authors of the installation “Colorful sky," and the commissioners of the work: Giorgio Berta of Studio BNC and Federico Pasinelli for Bergamo+.

A new media art experiment to engage passersby and invite them to look at themselves and the world from a different point of view. Martina Cesani, designer of MiDi Motori Dititali, and Federico Montagna of Bonaldi Gruppo Eurocar Italia, the commissioning company, tell the behind-the-scenes story of it.

Lights and projections, Christmas symbols and cutting-edge technology. Architect Andrea Boatti tells how magic is born.

An internationally renowned designer interprets the quintessential Christmas symbol in a pop key. Interview with Massimo Castagna and the commissioner of his installation, Amedeo Zenucchi.

An ode to the territory of the Capital of Culture 2023 in the debut work of two promising students, Chiara Arrigoni and Martina Nodari. In the interview, Chiara's voice is intertwined with those of Anna Villari of A2A and Laura Salvatore Nocivelli of RPP Nocivelli, spokespersons for the companies that supported and financed the project.

Santa's house, in a design version. ADOK's Simone Serughetti tells how he and his team imagined and reproduced it with virtual reality.

From the creative flair of a great designer, a work that dialogues with the public and the facade of Bergamo's most important art gallery. The author Sergio Pappalettera, Accademia Carrara general manager Gianpietro Bonaldi and Attilio Brambilla of Alfaparf, the partner company, talk about it.

An optical illusion transports the viewer inside an artisanal panettone workshop. An interview with artist Cuboliquido, a magician of anamorphic perspective, and Nicolò Vezzoli of Italo Vezzoli pastry shop, who opens (virtually) the doors of his kingdom with this work.

An open-air Wunderkammer filled with lights, wish trees and wonder. Interview with architect Andrea Boatti of Domus Ing&Arch who oversaw the project.

Barely mentioned in the Gospels, the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem made by Mary and Joseph before the birth of Jesus is reconstructed in a cultured and powerful work. Matteo Rubbi, the author, recounts the background.

An eloquent cloud, caught under a gate in the 16th-century walls, speaks its mind on climate change. Its story is told by Edoardo Milesi, the designer who designed it, and Giovanni Lanfranchi, manager of Alias, the company that sponsored it.

Four signature installations designed for the patios of Bergamo's bars and restaurants during Christmas Design, from Nov. 25, 2023 to Jan. 7, 2024. Maurizio Vegini, creative director of the event, tells us about them in this interview.