Fabrica: A Creative Utopia

Fabrica! Do we need to say more? Since 1994, the legendary Italian research centre has invited forty bright young artists from all over to its vast villa in Treviso (that just got a new makeover from acclaimed architect Tadao Ando.) Established by Benetton group founder Luciano Benetton and photographer and its then art director Oliviero Toscani, the institution serves as breeding ground for artists who devote themselves entirely to creative studies for one year. Now, after making a stopover in Milan and Shanghai, you can see Fabrica’s Les Yeux Ouvert (“Eyes Open to the World and the Future”) exhibition at Shiodome Italia in Tokyo, organised by the Pompidou Centre. It was a perfect opportunity for PingMag to grab Fabrica General Manager Alfio Pozzoni for a chat.

Written by Chiemi
Translated by Natsumi Yamane

First of all, how did you become the General Manager of Fabrica?

Once I was involved in a project commissioned by Fabrica and through the experience of working with young talents, I came to identify with a lot of Fabrica’s activities. After that, I accepted the Fabrica director’s offer to become a consultant for their special projects, and then became the General Manager in 2007. For this exhibition, I’m acting as the team leader.

And what exactly do you do?

The General Manager produces all of Fabrica’s projects, meaning, I gather specialists in the areas of interactive, graphic, design and music, attend meetings with organisations such as the United Nations and Reporters Without Borders, come up with ideas for new projects, and decide if they have the potential to be used in our campaigns and educational projects. Some of them are long-term and ongoing and span for more than a year, others associated with businesses are more commercial.

As we can see at the exhibition, Fabrica is probably best known for its COLORS magazine. But please tell us more about your other ongoing projects.

The graphic work on the ground floor is a project called “WFP (World Food Programme)” by the United Nations about education in Africa: This school feeding programme encourages children to stay in education by providing them with one nutritious meal each day. And Fabrica was responsible for the advertising campaign.

Now we’d like to know exactly: How many applications do you receive and how many artists are in residence at Fabrica at the moment?

We receive approximately one hundred applications every week, so the selection process requires a good deal of time for us to go through the vast amount of portfolios. The artists who then come to Fabrica normally stay for one year, and we currently have around forty exhibiting artists. We will probably have around fifty for the academic year of 2008.

I looked into the application form at your website and got the impression that there is a rather high hurdle for us Japanese in terms of the language barrier. Do you get many from Japan?

There are some, but I wouldn’t say that there are many. However, Fabrica has a system to support people with limited understanding of English. We receive applications from across the world, including China and Africa, so Japanese applicants aren’t the only people with the language problem. The first two to three months might be tough - but in time, everyone will get used to it.

The programme “VIOLENCE” for the World Health Organisation in 2003 was a message against various forms of violence. This poster focuses on abuse of the elderly. © Gabriele Riva / Fabrica

Also from the “VIOLENCE” campaign: A poster against collective violence. © Gabriele Riva / Fabrica

Apart from the language issue, what other kind of supports can people get at Fabrica?

The selected artists receive financial support such as housing, expenses and a stipend to help them pursue their research at the institution. They study various fields of art including graphics, photography and cinema alongside professionals, and gradually start to participate in works related to visual communication. There are numerous encounters at Fabrica, and I would say that it’s a place where young artists’ dreams come true.

What do the artists do after they have finished their studies at Fabrica?

I’m not fully aware of what every single artist who used to study at Fabrica is doing, but many of them have become professionals in their own fields. And around half of them still work in collaboration with us. I frequently visit South America, where I hear about the activities of various former Fabrica residents from that region.

The “Road Safety” poster appeals to pedestrians and cyclists about the importance of wearing high visibility clothing. © Marian Grabmayer, Reed Young / Fabrica

“IF” is a project to visualise superstars or legends that died young, such as John Lennon and Marilyn Monroe, if they were alive today. © Erik Ravelo / Fabrica

The title of this exhibition, “LES YEUX OUVERTS,” means “to open the eyes and look at the now.” Tell us about the message behind this, please.

The concept of this exhibition is to incorporate environmental and social elements and project it in each artist’s unique ways. We wanted people to look at their surrounding environments and study people in different societies, and pay respect to those. The works in this exhibition were chosen by myself and the Pompidou Centre in Paris especially to convey the spirit of what is going on at Fabrica now. Also, as far as the technological works are concerned, we selected interactive works to help make Japanese people’s understanding easier.

Finally, what’s your message to young and aspiring Japanese artists coming to this exhibition?

There are many incredible talents at Fabrica, and we hope you would be a part of it too. Our doors are always open.

Mr. Pozzoni of Fabrica, thank you for your inspiring conversation today! And to you, beloved reader, we are curious about your comments on the exhibition…

“FABRICA: LES YEUX OUVERTS” poster for Fabrica’s first exhibition in Japan.

Alfio Pozzoni, General Manager of Fabrica.

Info:
“LES YEUX OUVERTS” Exhibition
Venue: Shiodomeitalia Creative Center, Tokyo.
Dates: Running until Sunday March 2nd, 2008.
Admission: Adults ¥700, students ¥500.

6 Comments

1. A great concept completed with Ando’s work!

   Posted by: Omar Garfio on February 2nd, 2008 at 2:52 am

2. FABRICA is so cool! I read the feature about them in Vs. Magazine last year, it all just seem incredibly wonderful down there!

   Posted by: Chris Halsted on February 2nd, 2008 at 2:59 am

3. [...] Interview with Fabrica’s General Manager, Alfio Pozzoni, at PingMag. [...]

   Posted by: Fabrica exhibition in Tokyo « News from Japan on February 5th, 2008 at 11:17 pm

4. [...] Leer artículo completo [...]

   Posted by: Elisava Escuela Superior de Diseño - Postgrado en Diseño y Dirección de Arte » Fabrica: A Creative Utopia on February 6th, 2008 at 5:00 pm

5. thanksss

   Posted by: Güzel Sözler on February 10th, 2008 at 5:03 pm

6. [...] week, which sounds very daunting. But I’m confident, I better be, I got no plan B. (Article here if you are [...]

   Posted by: Another list « Journey Fabrica on March 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

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