The Art Gallery of the Inter-American Development Bank's Cultural Center will show an exhibition of technological art from Italy titled digITALYart. The exhibition is being held by the IDB in honor of Italy and the City of Milan, where the Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors is scheduled to take place in March.
Along with other works, the exhibition features ROMA II, a video installation by Venetian master Fabrizio Plessi. Set up in the IDB Atrium, ROMA II is an electronic water fountain created from marble and an assortment of TV monitors. The digITALYart sample also consists of digitally designed architectural projects by Celestino Soddu and interactive images by Adriano Abbado.
The architect Soddu has devoted his entire career to researching the possibilities of computer-generated design. He writes programs that enable computers to produce variants of a single program, thereby making designs from cultural and physical DNA. Abbado, for his part, is interested in the relationship between music and images, the versatility of the computer as a tool, and the idea of confronting the infinite.
Communication, Technology and Development
"The exhibition reveals new frontiers in art, science, communication, and economic and social development," said Mirna Liévano de Marques, External Relations Advisor of the IDB. "Throughout history, Italy has retained an extraordinary creativity, an ability to design and produce, to incorporate culture into development. This exhibition is a step toward enhanced understanding between Italy and Latin America, a bridge across the Atlantic."
Danilo Piaggesi, Chief of the Information and Communication Technology for Development Division of the IDB, emphasizes the relevance of the new technologies as a new context for development: "The unfolding technology revolution offers a huge window of opportunity for making a tangible difference in the lives of the vast majority of the world's populations that still remain disconnected and economically disenfranchised. Through this event, the Bank seeks to raise awareness and create interest in this fascinating realm… The exhibition illustrates how the application of technology to culture can contribute to the creation of an environment that is conducive to human development and the eradication of inequalities."
Additional Information
The exhibition will be open until April 25, 2003. For additional information about the IDB Cultural Center and its programs, please call (202) 623-3774. A free, full-color brochure in English will be available to the public. For photographs, please call (202) 623-1213
The IDB Cultural Center Art Gallery is located at 1300 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. and is open five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., free of charge. The nearest Metro station is Metro Center.