Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Tajani: "Over one hundred spaces including ateliers, laboratories, workshops, workshops, factories, makerspaces and training schools in Milan and the metropolitan area

Milan, November 14 2019 – To rediscover the places of making and craftsmanship between tradition and technology 4.0. From the ancient goldsmith's shop to the modern tailor's shop that creates customized garments, passing through the historic silverware company up to the digital manufacturing laboratories. Alongside pliers and bolts, ovens, lathes and chisels there will also be the most sophisticated technological instruments: 3D printers, CNC cutters, plotters, laser cutters and much more. 

“Manifatture Aperte” returns on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th November, the event that allows you to discover over one hundred places of making where innovation and artisan knowledge meet in the name of high quality production. To illustrate, this morning at Palazzo Marino, the contents of the second edition of "Manifatture Aperte" by the councilor for Labor Policies, Productive Activities, Commerce, Fashion and Design Cristina Tajani with the president of the Manifattura Milano Advisory Board, Stefano Micelli.

“The over one hundred companies that join Manifatture Aperte this year, there were 70 in 2018, confirm the desire of the operators to open up to the city and its desire to rediscover and reappropriate a world made of great tradition and artisan ability but above all of constant research and innovation - comments the councilor for Labor Policies, Productive Activities, Commerce, Fashion and Design Cristina Tajani -. A treasure of knowledge which, during its first edition, registered over five thousand visitors made up mainly of young people who can find new employment opportunities and expression of their creativity in ideas, projects and objects precisely by 'doing'. The appointment with Manifatture Aperte is an important step for the Administration to encourage the return of light manufacturing to the city with the aim of regenerating abandoned areas and creating good employment".

“Milan has always had high-value manufacturing activities – adds Stefano Micelli, president of the Manifattura Milano Advisory Board -. In addition to the great tradition of high craftsmanship that has always distinguished the city, many projects have grown in recent years that have re-proposed and relaunched the city's know-how thanks to design and new technologies. All these experiences contribute to consolidating the economic and social fabric of the city by connecting different generations and sensitivities".

Manifatture Aperte 2019 will kick off on Thursday 28 November with an opening evening inside the BASE Milano creative hub, which this year will be the headquarters of the event.

The program of this second edition is rich, curated by Nema - Rete Nuove Manifatture, with the aim of valorising small and medium-sized businesses which, in the metropolitan area, create quality artisanal and digital products in an innovative way.

“NeMa, Rete Nuove Manifatture, was born from the desire and commitment to aggregate skills, resources and knowledge in the field of new urban manufacturing, characterized by Culture, Technology and Enterprise - explains Marco Noseda, Chief Strategy Officer Cariplo Factory -. These three elements are the catalysts of innovation processes that promote competitiveness in an inclusive and generative way. During Manifatture Aperte citizens will have the opportunity to experience it thanks to a wide program of activities and meetings".

Guided tours, workshops and meetings will lead to the discovery of the spaces of manufacturing, craftsmanship and digital manufacturing, where tradition and innovation meet to create exclusive products, appreciated all over the world. Visitors, in fact, will have the opportunity to meet the protagonists of the Manufactures to ask questions and discover in detail the production path of each process. The manufacturing and crafts sector is an important lever for the economic development of Milan which must be strongly supported because, right here, new jobs can arise in highly professional contexts.

This year there are nine "thematic routes" to introduce visitors to the over 100 places of activity open to the city:

Art workshops - The great masters of the Milanese artisan tradition tell their secrets for making bags, hats, frames, books, ceramics and jewellery. A journey through some of the most famous and prestigious art workshops in Milan, to discover the wonders of the "know-how" handed down for generations.

What does 4.0 mean? - The technologies of the fourth industrial revolution are transforming manufacturing by mixing them with the techniques of the great Italian tradition. From mechanics to medical devices, an itinerary to discover how robots, 3D printers, new materials, lasercuts and IoT are changing the way we design and manufacture things. From the large leading industrial automation company, to small high-tech companies, from research centers to makers' laboratories that put innovation within everyone's reach.

Passion workshops - Aluminum guitars and custom-built vintage cars, plexiglass jewelery and hand-painted surfboards, restoration workshops, lutherie, mosaic, ceramics, photography. Even a stop motion animation laboratory that combines digital and craftsmanship. A special itinerary that brings together very different realities united by a common thread: passion and technical knowledge that become business.

Theater Manufactures - The Teatro alla Scala Academy and the Teatro alla Scala Laboratories open their workshops to the public with tailoring demonstrations and the presentation of parts of scenographic work from one of the most important theaters in the world. The itinerary also includes a visit to a puppet-building workshop for contemporary puppetry and a set design studio.

Design Factories - The link between design and manufacturing is a distinctive feature of Italy, and of Milan in particular. Some extraordinary experiences have been able to combine creativity, design and great manufacturing quality: the factory on the water, the archive of innovative materials, the wood museum, the company that reinvents the way of producing sofas and armchairs.

Manufacturing in the neighborhoods - In Villapizzone, a former industrial complex of 3.000 mXNUMX is reborn as a space for art and craftsmanship. In Dergano, small businesses from different sectors network to recover the artisanal identity of the neighborhood. In Porto di Mare, a former abandoned factory hosts an artisan coworking space. Shops, pastry workshops, craft breweries, this is how the factories live in the neighborhoods.

Circular and sustainable manufacturing - The manufacturing of the future will have to be respectful of the environment, attentive to consumption, capable of putting waste back into circulation as raw materials. Two extraordinary experiences are already ready for the challenge. From the wallpaper factory that combines excellence, circularity and sustainability to the production of the most sustainable jeans in the world.

Women and Manufacturing - A journey dedicated to the women protagonists of Milanese manufacturing. Fashion, jewellery, ceramics, wedding dresses, furnishing fabrics, decoration: a review of workshops and ateliers, from young newcomers to the most established names, including technology, style, craftsmanship with particular attention to the environment and sustainability. 

Manufacturing with Social Impact - From social carpentry to the workshop for building bicycles, manufacturing also means "doing together". Many social projects use manufacturing as a tool to create autonomy through work, develop talent and self-awareness, create new social bonds, renew the sense of meeting with others. 

All events are free and it is possible to register on the site from November 16th www.manifattureaperte.it where you can discover the complete list of factories, ateliers and companies participating in the initiative.

Manifatture Aperte is an event promoted by the Municipality of Milan dedicated to the protagonists of manufacturing in Milan and the metropolitan area. Starting from 2019, the event grows thanks to the partnership with Nema - Rete Nuove Manifatture, made up of Cariplo Factory, Base Milano, the Make a Cube³ incubator, the Fab Lab OpenDot and the WeMake maker space. A newly established hub of professionals that intends to carry out support, consultancy and training activities on digital manufacturing for start-ups and SMEs in the Lombardy area. NEMA's first initiative is precisely the organization of the meeting program during Manifatture Aperte.

Manifatture Aperte is made possible thanks to the support of Banca Ifis and Senofi

The event can also be followed via social media: FB: @ComuneMilano and @ManifatturaMilano and Instagram @visit_milano (Yes Milano) Official hashtag: #ManifattureAperte

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