Teatro Albers marks the launch of a new collaboration, that has seen the Foundation invite AMO to interpret and reproduce pieces from the archive in ways that make sense for the present day. Through their teachings and art, Josef and Anni Albers transformed the way people see. Among their most influential beliefs: that experimentation is the object of education, and that you can go anywhere from anywhere.

“They were celebrants,” says Nicholas Fox Weber, Executive Director of the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation. “I think of the design work that will be produced, to be in their tradition, doesn’t mean to look like them. It means to have the same values”.

Presented here are works by London-based designer Marco Campardo, and Pisa-based master weaver Laura de Cesare, who have been brought together in recognition of their shared embrace of experimental and process-driven design. Also shown are large-scale woven room dividers, inspired by Anni’s distinctive works created for her 1949 solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
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“We’re determined to get living designers to reach back and take historically significant works as a point of departure for future design, forging new boundaries within the field, and creating work relevant to our continuously shifting environments,” says Ambra Medda, co-founder of AMO.

‍Teatro Albers takes place in the theater space of a nunnery and school, the Istituto Marcelline Tommaseo. Both Medda and Sommaruga attended this school as children, and those personal links – along with the educational aims of the exhibition – have granted access to this special space. Workshops and lectures in weaving, colour theory, and the work of the Albers’ will be offered to the students and visitors alike. The Istituto serves as a perfect backdrop to explore the values of the Albers’ and their commitment to education; and to spotlight the importance of knowledge exchange in the cultivation of handmaking traditions. The environment will be akin to one of a working studio – with moments of stillness, observation, dialogue, and making.

All works will be available to order on the newly launched AMO.shop – a platform devoted to presenting experimental design and supporting traditional methods of making. A portion of the proceeds will go to Le Korsa – a non-profit organization established by the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation – which is dedicated to supporting Senegalese institutions across healthcare, art, and education.
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