Paola Antonelli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paola Antonelli
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Antonelli at the Digital Life and Design Conference, Munich, 2008
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| Born | 1963 (age 61–62) |
| Education | Polytechnic University of Milan (Architecture) |
| Occupation | Author, editor, and educator |
| Organization | Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York |
| Title | Senior Curator of Architecture & Design Director of Research & Development |
Paola Antonelli, born in 1963, is an Italian expert in architecture and design. She works as a Senior Curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. She also started and leads the Research and Development department there. TIME magazine has called her one of the top 25 design thinkers in the world.
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Early Life and Education
Paola Antonelli was born in Sassari, a city on the island of Sardinia, Italy. She went to the Politecnico di Milano University in Milan. In 1990, she earned a degree in architecture. Even though she studied architecture, she chose to work in other areas of design.
Her Work and Career
After finishing university, Paola Antonelli organized many art and design shows. These shows took place in Italy, France, and Japan. She also wrote for important magazines. From 1987 to 1991, she was an editor for Domus magazine. Then, from 1992 to 1994, she was the design editor for Abitare magazine. She also wrote articles for other well-known publications like Harvard Design Magazine and Metropolis.
Teaching Design
From 1991 to 1993, Antonelli taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). There, she taught students about the history and ideas behind design. In 2003, she began teaching a design theory course at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She has also given talks about design and architecture in many places across Europe and the United States. She has been a judge for several international design awards.
Curator at The Museum of Modern Art
Paola Antonelli joined MoMA in New York in February 1994. She became a curator in the Architecture and Design department. A curator is someone who chooses, organizes, and presents art and objects for museum exhibitions.
Her first big show at MoMA opened in 1995. It was called Mutant Materials in Contemporary Design. This show looked at new and unusual materials used in modern design. She then curated other interesting exhibitions:
- Thresholds: Contemporary Design from the Netherlands in 1996.
- Achille Castiglioni: Design! from 1997 to 1998.
- Projects 66: Campana/Ingo Maurer in 1999.
- Open Ends and Matter from September 2000 to February 2001.
Her 2001 exhibition, Workspheres, focused on how workplaces might look in the future. In 2005, she organized an exhibition called Safe: Design Takes on Risk at MoMA. This show explored how design helps us deal with dangers and risks.
She also curated an exhibition about food from around the world. This show highlighted how food can be a form of design. As a curator, Antonelli has added many video games to MoMA's permanent collection. She believes video games are important examples of modern design. She has even tried to include a Boeing 747 airplane in MoMA's collection!
In 2017, Antonelli worked with Michelle Millar Fisher on an exhibition called "Items: Is Fashion Modern?". This show looked at 111 clothing items and accessories that have greatly influenced the world in the last two centuries. They also taught an online course about fashion as design.
Antonelli believes that design is often misunderstood. She says people sometimes think design is just about making things look pretty. She works to change this idea, explaining that design is essential for us to use new inventions. She says, "Without designers, life would not happen." She explains that designers help us use things like microwaves and the internet.
Awards and Recognition
Paola Antonelli has received many honors for her work. In 2014, she was given an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London. In 2015, she received an AIGA Medal. This award recognized her for showing how design affects our daily lives through her insightful observations and exciting exhibitions at MoMA.
She has been named one of the 100 most powerful people in the art world by Art Review and Surface Magazine. She also has honorary degrees from Kingston University in London, ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, and Pratt Institute in New York.
Some of her other awards include:
- 2006 National Design Award from Cooper Hewitt.
- 2007 TIME magazine design visionary.
- 2010 Lucky Strike Designer Award.
- 2011 Hall of Fame inductee at the Art Directors Club.
- 2019 American Academy in Rome honoree.
- 2020 London Design Medal.
- 2021 German Design Award Personality of the Year.
- In 2024, she received the Compasso d'Oro alla Carriera award for her amazing career achievements.
See also
In Spanish: Paola Antonelli para niños
- List of works in the MoMA collection of architecture and design
