Location: Milan, Italy
Program: Exhibition
Client: Self Initiated
Collaboration: Anne van der Zwaag
Status: Completed in 2018

Milan’s annual Salone del Mobile offering can be overwhelming as it keeps on getting bigger each year. The onslaught of countless brands showcasing their latest must-see designs is sometimes hard to balance with that other quintessential raison d’être of trade-shows: meeting people, making connections, exchanging ideas, getting inspired.

We merged the two, building a bar that showcased Dutch design in all its functional splendour as it brought people together over a drink (or two). We initiated Bar Anne together with famed Dutch curator Anne van der Zwaag. Together, we selected the best Dutch designers to showcase their work, like Sabine Marcelis, Klaas Kuijk, Rik Tegelaar, Mae Engelgeer, and many more.

We heightened the atmosphere with musical performances, dinners, drinks and dance nights in the courtyard that drew a crowd from all corners of the world. Notably, ministers from the Netherlands as well as Italy found their way to hang out with us in Bar Anne.

Project team: Remi Versteeg, Stijn de Weerd, Joost Baks, Gijs Baks, Damien Loch, Vera Tamburlin, Marius van der Pol, Bas Wijn

Contributors: Anne van der Zwaag, Sabine Marcelis, Klaas Kuijk, Rik Tegelaar, Mae Engelgeer,  Dirk van der Kooij, VANTOT, Children of the Light, Space Encounters, Sanne Beeren

Sponsors: FINSA, Qbiq, Acosorb, Hartweil, Invent Design, Tarkett, Weltevree, Lensvelt, Heineken
Photography: Jan Willem Kaldenbach, Tintori Giacomo

Completed with Space Encounters