An exhibition of Italian art has kicked off its Asian Road Tour with a ten-day stop in Bangkok to promote Italian creativity in industrial design.
Earlier this week, the Italian embassy and the Italian Trade Agency co-launched the exhibition dubbed "Italia Geniale" at Iconsiam. It will run from March 7-16.
Paolo Dionisi, Italy's ambassador to Thailand, said that it aims to highlight Italian creativity while also examining the relationships between people and objects from daily life.
"I am sure that many objects will make you fall in love with Italian design because Italians have creative genius in our DNA," Mr Dionisi said.
"And I would like to announce that Bangkok is the first stop of our Asian Tour design exhibition, which will continue to other important cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and others."
He said the ongoing exhibition also marks the inauguration of Italian Design Week.
"Here, we have several events. We will inaugurate fashion week at CentralWorld and ... there will be a lighting exhibition at the Central Embassy. [Today] there will be a Master Class by an Italian artist at the Central Embassy as well," he said.
Mr Dionisi noted that as this year marks the 155th anniversary of Italy's diplomatic ties with Thailand, the embassy was commemorating that milestone by launching a special logo created by a Thai artist who won a recent design competition.
Culture Minister Itthiphol Khunpluem said sharing different cultures brings people closer as they learn more about one another's history, lifestyles and experiences.
"Especially with our country, Italy has a longstanding and close relationship as a result of economic and trade ties and people-to-people relationships," Mr Itthiphol said.
He said the ongoing exhibition would enlighten more Thais about the spirit of Italian creativity and design.
According to the embassy, the exhibition is the main event of this year's Italian Design Day, which is celebrated around the world every March 9.
This show was originally created for the Italian Pavilion for the 2020 Expo in Dubai. However, it was later promoted by the Italian Foreign Ministry, Italian Enterprises Ministry and Made in Italy, the Italian Trade Commission and the Association for Industrial Design to serve as a roadshow event with Bangkok its first stop.
