PLAYFUL INTER-ACTION, at MAXXI Museum from 12 November 2013 to 5 January 2014, addresses a known yet previously not fully explored aspect of Alcantara: its multisensoriality. The intent of the exhibition, in fact is to describe and express in a “physical” and extraordinarily tangible way the special properties of a material which is more and more part of our daily life.

The interpretation has been entrusted to two creative groups already known and respected in the world of interactive design: Fabrica and studio Minale-Maeda, which the curators Giulio Cappellini (Art Director, Alcantara) and Domitilla Dardi (Design Curator, MAXXI Architettura) chose precisely for their groundbreaking role in so-called “relation design”. Interactivity is in fact the exhibition’s basic element: a series of tactile/visual, tactile/auditory and tactile/olfactory associations encourage visitors to caress Alcantara, look at it and even listen to it or smell it.

The two Fabrica installations, “Pendulums” and “Shiver”, move in the dimension of sound and light: visitors activate the interactions by touch. The Minale-Maeda duo’s work, “Essences, Compounds, Particles”, addresses the olfactory universe as it invites visitors/players to compose new blends of shapes and essences.

The path leading visitor to the discovery of PLAYFUL INTER-ACTION reveals unprecedented instances of perceptual contamination, a veritable sensory “symphony” that examines in-depth the expressive power of Alcantara, a material with endless application potential, numerous colours and textures and unparalleled versatility.