Design Miami appoints Maria Cristina Didero as curatorial director and announces new Paris edition

Design Miami has announced that Maria Cristina Didero will serve as curatorial director of the fair for 2022, leading the Basel and Miami editions. At the same time, the fair also communicated that an inaugural Paris edition is set for October 2022.

The Paris fair will coincide with Art Basel’s Grand Palais edition, with the exact date to be confirmed in the next few weeks. ‘The decision to present an event in Paris this October 2022 is the natural next step in Design Miami’s evolution,’ said the fair’s CEO Jennifer Roberts upon releasing the news. ‘Rooted in the past with a hold on the future, the city truly complements Design Miami’s commitment to showcasing the best of historic and contemporary collectible design.’

Maria Cristina Didero named Design Miami curatorial director 2022

Working with Wallpaper* as Milan editor since early 2021, Maria Cristina Didero has also been a long-term contributor to Design Miami, working closely with many of the galleries, brands and designers that regularly present at the fair. 

‘We are incredibly thrilled to welcome Maria Cristina to our Design Miami family,’ says Roberts. ‘Maria Cristina has an exceptional reputation amongst her peers and as a longtime collaborator of Design Miami, we already have a deep appreciation for her creative vision. We very much look forward to seeing how her unique insights will shape our events for 2022.’

Through her curatorial practice, Didero has worked with several of the fair's regular exhibitors, from Snarkitecture to Philippe Malouin, and she has curated three editions of Fendi’s presence at Design Miami (commissioning Cristina Celestino, Chiara Andreatti and Sabine Marcelis to create works inspired by the fashion house’s visual codes). Among her most recent projects, Didero launched a new digital exhibition platform in collaboration with Milanese design consultancy Mr Lawrence titled Perfettooo, featuring a series of virtual spaces by Wallpaper* Designers of the Year 2022, Objects of Common Interest.

‘My multidisciplinary approach wholly aligns with the fair’s mission to promote culture, talent, innovation, creativity, and education’ - Maria Cristina Didero

In her new role, Didero will set the curatorial voice for the fair’s Basel, Miami and Paris editions, working closely with VP of fairs Grela Orihuela and the entire team to develop an overarching theme across all three, as well as developing both the fairs’ on-site and online programming. 

‘I am excited to embrace this new adventure,’ comments Didero. ‘My multidisciplinary approach wholly aligns with the fair’s mission to promote culture, talent, innovation, creativity, and education; it will be a challenge and an aspiration to explore new possibilities and boundaries.’

Design Miami 2022: The Golden Age

Didero’s chosen theme for the 2022 fairs is The Golden Age, an idea, she says, that has been shared by many cultures across time and space. She continues: ‘Whether projected onto an idealised past or a utopian future, The Golden Age envisions a world at peace, in which advancements in the arts and technology precipitate unprecedented ease, cooperation, pleasure, and beauty; a time in which every living creature on Earth coexists in harmony.’

Didero’s first edition will be the upcoming Design Miami/Basel, taking place from 14 to 19 June 2022, followed by Paris in October, and Miami from 30 November to 5 December 2022.

INFORMATION
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