Valencia, World Design Capital 2022

Valencian design, in any of its forms, could not therefore leave anyone indifferent. And the fact is that these great successes of our creative sector only precede the development of Valencia as an important seat of world design.

The Valencian Community shows a high quality in the world of design. Specifically, the capital of the Turia has been producing design for years, which has led to the recognition of the work of several professionals in the sector. Among these, we can mention some national design awards that come from the Comunitat, such as Dani Nebot in 1995, Nacho Lavernia in 2012, or in 1999 Javier Mariscal, the designer of the brand image of the 92 Barcelona Olympic Games, among other outstanding works. A very representative example is the awarding of the national design prize in 2016 to the Alicante-born Mario Ruiz, one of the most prestigious designers on the national scene. Several firms in the furniture and auxiliary furniture sector have also won national design awards in the company category.

Valencia, host of the European Design Awards in 2020.

On Tuesday 11th June it was announced that the city will host the event, taking over from Warsaw. This European design awards ceremony dates back to 2007 in Greece, and in the last edition, a few days ago, we already found some award winners from the Spanish design sector and specifically from Valencia. Along with the Barcelona designer David Torrents, who won a Silver Laus for poster design, the Valencian designers of Estudio Yinsen and Democràcia Estudio won prizes in the poster and packaging categories, respectively.

The organisation of the European awards will be managed by the Designers' Association of the Valencia Region (ADCV), which has already talked about a project for this date. Exhibitions and workshops on design, as well as 'design routes' through the city's studios, to raise awareness of the capital's design. In fact, the candidacy for the European Design Awards is being promoted by the Valencia Convention Bureau, the ADCV itself, and the Associació València Capital Mundial del Disseny. It is a project that could serve as a bridge to the capital in 2022.

Hours after learning that the city would host the European design awards, the news has arrived: Valencia is the only European finalist to be World Design Capital in 2022, competing for the title with Bangalore, India. The World Design Organization (WDO) published the news once the Valencian delegation had been informed. This is the first step on a more complex path, which will end in October with the final decision as to which city will hold the title.

The Valencian project was born out of the initiative of a group of designers and entrepreneurs formed in the Associació València Capital del Disseny, led by the designer Marisa Gallén, of Gallén+Ibáñez. In December 2018, this newly created organisation launched the candidacy to achieve this distinction, which is awarded every two years to a city for the use of design as a driving activity in economic, social and cultural development. However, the aim is to put design on the public agenda and make it an agent of urban innovation, whether or not the capital is awarded. For, as the Associació says. The project is directed by the designer Xavi Calvo, of Estudi Menta, and Pau Rausell, director of the Research Unit on the Economics of Culture (Econcult). The funding is mainly private, but it has two subsidies from the City Council and the Generalitat.

The project has the support of the City Council, the Generalitat and several companies. However, although the process is activated from the city of Valencia, it aims to include Alicante and Castellón. The aim is to promote Valencian design and the rest of Spanish design in the international arena. After being launched in December, the candidacy was unanimously approved by the plenary last January. The next step is in July: different representatives of the WDO will visit València to get to know the city's design and its project. The final decision will be published on 11 October this year. According to Xavi Calvo, it is an advantage that this date is close to Valencia Design Week (VDW) and Feria Hábitat. Thus, the project presented is perceived as an extension of the Valencia Design Week, with events being cultivated throughout the year.

The axis on which the candidature is built is the Mediterranean, a point of connection between different cultures with which the aim is to mark a difference with Lille, France, which will hold the title in 2020. Thus, the members of the World Design Organization will travel in July to a city that holds the slogan 'The Mediterranean design of Valencia. Design for change, design for the senses'.