From 22 March to 14 June 2014 Bologna’s Sala Borsa will host “The Children’s Bedroom”, an exhibition of children’s toys and furniture from 1900 to 1950 loaned from the collection of Maurizio Marzadori, the well-known Bologna antiquarian and founder of Freak Andò.
The exhibition - which will be open until 15 June 2014 - looks at 50 years of Italian design with children in mind. On display will be furniture, fittings and accessories for children – in some cases entire bedrooms – designed by Antonio Rubino, Attilio Mussino, Sergio Tofano, Mario Sturani, Gigi Chessa, Ernesto Basile, Giuseppe Pagano and Levi Montalcini, as well as illustrators and designers active in the first half of the 20th century.
The classroom has been re-created with old school desks. These include the table-desks used by educationalist Alessandro Marcucci in his 1914 ‘Agro Romano’ schools, teaching aids from the Montessori system, the rationalist furnishings of the ‘Balilla’schools, and the Sant’Elia nursery schools in Como, designed by the architect Terragni.
Toys include wooden replicas by Lenci of characters from Corriere dei Piccoli, Pinoccchio and Walt Disney, as well as by artists like Cambellotti and Prini, and creations referencing the Futurist, Constructivist and Autarchic movements.
The programme was organised by the Bologna City Authorities, BolognaFiere and Bologna University in collaboration with Freak Andò, Unicef and Salamanca Design.
The educational programme was curated by the Bologna Fine Arts Academy.