Date & Time: Saturday, December 13, 2025 11:15-12:00 (Reception opens at 11:00)
Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo / EVENT SPACE (1F / next to the museum shop)
Admission: Free (a TABF admission ticket valid on the day of the event is required)
Language: English, Japanese [Interpreter: Satoko Yokoyama]
Speakers: Anniina Koivu (writer, curator) × Bruno Ceschel (Director of Self Publish, Be Happy)
As part of the exhibition Marchette, this presentation will explore one of Italy’s most distinctive qualities — its strong design culture. Marchette examines the enduring tradition of Italian industries commissioning books in collaboration with artists, photographers, and designers, from the postwar period to today. Across furniture, lighting, fashion, ceramics, and automotive design, companies have invested in printed matter as a way to narrate their identities and values, but also to experiment with creativity. The result is publications that move beyond catalogues into spaces where corporate culture meets visual storytelling.
Rather than follow a linear timeline, the exhibition brings together around fifty books in unexpected constellations — linked by design details, material choices, or conceptual themes. This approach highlights the many ways in which industry has engaged with publishing, from mid-century experiments to contemporary collaborations. Visitors are invited to trace both the continuity and the surprising resonances, and to discover how Italian design firms continue to shape cultural discourse through the book as a medium.
In this talk, curators Bruno Ceschel and Anniina Koivu will share insights into the historical context, recent developments, and curatorial process behind the exhibition — offering a behind-the-scenes look at how Marchette came together.
Event reservation: https://peatix.com/event/4659038/view
(You will be redirected to an external site)
*As seating is limited, we recommend making a reservation in advance.
*On-site registration will be available on the day of the event, subject to seat availability.
Anniina Koivu
Anniina Koivu (Finland) is a design writer, curator, consultant and educator working across design research, publishing and exhibition making. She has collaborated with Arita 2016, Iittala, Kvadrat, maat, mudac, Salone del Mobile, Vitra and Shorefast Fogo Island. Her exhibitions include U-Joints (2018–23), The Lost Graduation Show (2021), Plastic – Remaking Our World (2021–23), We Will Survive (2023–24), and Can Happiness Be Designed? (2025). She is the author and editor of Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec: Works (Phaidon, 2011), Vico Magistretti: Stories of Objects (Triest, 2020) and U-Joints – A Taxonomy of Connections (2023). She is founder of design brand Koivu and Head of Theory for the MAs at ECAL, Lausanne.
Web: www.anniinakoivu.com
Bruno Ceschel
Bruno Ceschel is the founder and director of Self Publish, Be Happy (SPBH), an organization dedicated to visual culture, education, and community. Since 2010, SPBH has organized events at institutions such as Tate Modern, MoMA PS1, and Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Its collection of over 3,000 self-published photobooks is housed at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris. As Publishing Director at SPBH Editions, Ceschel has published works by authors including Vince Aletti, Carmen Winant, Charlie Engman, and Claudia Rankine. He is a visiting lecturer at École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL) and Cornell University.