What if we told you that Milan is a city of water? This is the intuition that kicks off the first edition of Bright Flow Milano, the urban enhancement event with a strong artistic, technological and sustainable impact that brings works of art to where the city’s most iconic waterways are . Plays of light, workshops and talks will take shape in a widespread event during one of the most stimulating weeks of life in Milan: the design week, which this year will be held from 18 to 23 April. The idea – Bright Flow Milano was born from the desire to create an annual event in which to rediscover the “aquatic” nature of Milan through the lighting of the now navigable canals and those now underground. This first edition aims to pave the way for a structured itinerary that can materialize in creating periodic appointments linked to the theme of light and water, which then remain the heritage of the whole city also through the donation of the exhibited works of art. Bright Flow, in the intentions of the rich network of organizers, partners and sponsors, represents a stimulus for companies, citizens and institutions to rediscover a more secret Milan – but full of beauty – and therefore deepen it with meetings, networking opportunities, talks with professionals and widespread events.
The pilot edition – The first appointment will be from 18 to 23 April 2023 on the occasion of the Fuori Salone and will include all the elements characterizing the Bright Flow format. There will be 5 light installations in 5 different parts of the city; 2 moments of Talk and Call; and an interactive workshop project dedicated to children. The leitmotif is the alliance between light and water, in the dynamic and international context that makes Milan more than ever a hotbed of ideas and creativity during the Design Week.
Already from the Preview of Bright Flow Milano, projects and working prototypes of electric generators will be presented, capable of illuminating installations by converting sustainable energy sources into electricity such as the current of the canal (water mills) or the “human” force (Human Wheel & Bike Energy System).
The flagship event – The flagship event of the Bright Flow week will be held on Friday 21 April with the presentation of the project to sponsors, institutions and insiders. To participate send an email to [email protected].
The event will be held in the Barcone of Milan, Naviglio Grande, from 19.30.
The locations and the works – five art installations, two appointments to get to know the Bright Flow world up close and activities for the little ones. Here is in detail what you will see in the 2023 edition.
Light Levitation
At Via Corsico: artistic work by Carlo Bernardini
Materialized by the physical light of the optical fiber, the project is based on the transformation of the space from a container of the work to an open form "permeable". The abstract form of the work, visible in the dark, is aimed at transforming the perception of the place, incorporating the void of the airspace into an illusory volume. The forms of light freeze in an apparent fixity, determining subtle games of balance and a perceptive mobility that allows you to never see them equal to themselves, from any internal or external point of view. Darkness becomes the basis of this mental drawing as in front of it one is forced to imagine, to a sort of seeing / not seeing. The reconfiguration of the space in a new architecture of light is obtained by means of optical fiber, a means suitable for transmitting information from one place to another with light through optical signals.
Aerial Forms
At the Engraving Center: artistic work by Nino Alfieri
Fascinated by the history of evolution, the artist has created an installation of elements with essential lines to evoke the “Big Bang” of life that took place in the seas of our planet 540 million years ago, an era in which the fundamental evolutionary leap of some forms was confirmed living beings which, unlike other soft-bodied ones, such as amoebas and sponges, were not dragged involuntarily by currents. Directionality has been very important in triggering the life of complex organisms on earth. When the first beings appeared that had a structure rich in symmetries and directions, the evolution of living beings endowed with complex active locomotion became possible, which we find today in the way our brain works. The three-dimensionally modeled AERIAL FORMS play with the rotation of a sinuous circle moving in delicate oscillations designed to create the sensation of aquatic fluidity and being fluorescent they offer a kinetic vision visible both in natural light and in the dark thanks to ultraviolet lighting.
Light wave
At Ripa di Porta Ticinese: artistic work by Gianpietro Grossi
The idea comes from the love for analog electronics, from the time of the artist’s studies, and from the interest in interactivity in transmuting a gesture, a light, a sound, a physical quantity into another form, into an electrical signal in order to create a “sensitive” device capable of involving an audience. A thin line of laser light is modulated by analog signals and waveforms captured by a microphone. It is a sort of laser oscilloscope where the waveform can be projected into large spaces, altering the viewer’s perception and creating a deeper visual involvement and immersion in sound. The first version was exhibited at the Science Festival in Genoa in 2009 as a tool for making the sound coming from a microphone visible. In a later version, the artist wanted to recreate a synthetic wave that reproduces the motion of water, sea waves, adding fundamental waveforms with different frequencies, phases and amplitudes and linked by precise numerical ratios according to the additive synthesis .
“BarconeMilano: Interactive light installation”
At Ripa di Porta Ticinese
The institutional activities of Bright Flow Milano will be held on the historic barge “BarconeMilano” – the work of light and water that speaks for itself and acts as the leitmotif of the project – and will be part of the Canale a Colori schedule. In this exceptional location the two Talk and Calls will also take place, i.e. the presentation to the press on 21/4 and the Day dedicated to meeting the artists on display, on 22/4, followed by a Call to Action for the presentation of the projects that will compete for the following season.
Activities for Children
• Ex Fornace Gola: Universikid Hub – a historic environment transformed to host workshops and activities for children during Bright Flow Milano. The first design center for children is born, dedicated to educational activities and the world of creativity. Starting from Universikid, the first creative e-learning platform conceived with the help of pedagogists and experts in the design and art sector, the Universikid Hub offers interactive courses on the world of design, art and creativity; workshops and live activities to stimulate the development of creativity. The Universikid method provides an edutainment course designed specifically to teach through action, educating creativity and fine manual skills. Interactive installations for children will also be exhibited within the Hub. Access to the hub is by reservation to allow access to all participants. You can do it for free in the hub section of the website www.universikid.com. Consult the program always on the site, a universe of games and discovery awaits you.
Universikid Hub timetables and activities see the link: www.universikid.com/universikidhub
Thanks to:
– District 6 of the Municipality of Milan
– Milan Design Week
An event Sponsored by:
-LUMEITALY
Media Partners:
-LIGHT
A project conceived by:
– Smarting
– Laughs Milan
– Kinetic Vibe
Technical partner
– Color channel
Bright Flow info and contacts: [email protected] – www.brightflowmilano.com
Source-tg24.sky.it