Oslo – The exhibition “PINK. Women in Italian Graphic Design. From its origins to the present day,” a tribute to the contribution of women to Italian graphic design and visual culture, is on display in Oslo through June 8. At the opening, scheduled for April 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Italian Cultural Institute, co-curator Francesco E. Guida, professor at the Politecnico di Milano, will be present in conversation with Ina Brantenberg, partner and creative director at Studio Tank, and Monica Kvinge, partner and administrative director at the same studio. Guida, Brantenberg, and Kvinge will discuss the role of designers in their respective countries, share their experiences, and reflect on the role of women in the design sector over time. The history of the arts and creative professions has long been told from a predominantly male perspective. PINK reconstructs and presents the figures and contributions of women who have worked in Italian graphic design from the 1940s to today, restoring visibility to professionals who, despite creating images that became iconic and part of the collective imagination, have often received insufficient recognition. The exhibition traces some of the most significant moments in Italian history: from the economic boom – with the rise of new products, rituals, and the Made in Italy brand – to the era of major socio-cultural transformations of the contemporary age, marked by digital transition, a crisis of values, and new forms of visual communication. Among the key figures are pioneers such as Anita Klinz, the first Italian female art director; Jeanne Michot Grignani; Brunetta Mateldi Moretti; Lora Lamm; Claudia Morgagni; Simonetta Ferrante; and Adelaide Acerbi, who helped shape Italy’s image during the boom years. Alongside them are designers active in the 1970s and 1980s, including Elisabetta Ognibene, Elena Green, Patrizia Pataccini, and Michela Papadia, engaged in public-interest and political graphics. With the 1990s and 2000s, the advent of digital technologies opened new frontiers, bringing forward figures such as Ginette Caron, Cristina Chiappini, Claude Marzotto, and Silvana Amato—the first Italian member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) – as well as Laura Viale, known for the famous Millelire covers published by Stampa Alternativa. The exhibition features more than forty designers active or historically significant within the Italian landscape, including winners and finalists from the five editions of the AWDA – AIAP Women in Design Award, the international prize promoted by AIAP since 2012. Most of the works on display come from the AIAP CDPG (Documentation Center on Graphic Design), the only center in Italy dedicated to collecting, preserving, and studying materials related to communication design, as well as from private archives and collections of the designers themselves. Through posters, books, sketches, drawings, and photographs, PINK not only showcases the excellence of Italian graphic design but also tells the stories of independent, courageous, and talented women—professionals who managed to balance personal and professional lives and became important references for generations of designers, often without receiving the critical recognition they deserved. (9colonne)