The redemption of plastic with Ro Plastic Prize 2023

Today, inside the sanctuary of contemporary design that is Galleria Rossana Orlandi, the program and contestants of the Ro Plastic Prize 2023, part of the RoGUILTLESSPLASTIC project launched in 2019 by gallery owner and curator Rossana Orlandi that aims to explore new artistic and creative solutions to recycling through three categories, was presented to the press: Art & Collectible Design, Emerging High Technologies and Inspiring Learning Projects representing design, technological innovation and communication. The exhibition of the projects will take place, as last year, in the Matteo Bandello palace in Milan where the different projects of the competing designers will be displayed under the curatorship of Nicoletta Orlandi Brugnoni while the award ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 20 at the Triennale. This year's edition gathered a record number of applications, 621 of which 388 were for the design category alone. «This year more than ever, we received projects from all over the world», Orlandi Brugnoni commented. A 10,000 euro prize is up for grabs to expand and deepen their projects.

This year's international jury will include Christie's Head of Design, Flavien Gaillard; archi-star Stefano Boeri; ADI Design President Luciano Galimberti, who sponsored the event; Parley for the Oceans founder and CEO Cyrill Gutsch and one of Dezeen's co-CEO, Benedict Hobson; and Dean of the School of Design at the Politecnico di Milano, Francesco Zurlo, among others. This year's contestants, which include first-time designers and others already known to the public, come from all over the world and present projects ranging from installations to furniture, all united by the common thread of recycling and testifying to the extraordinary variety of research and scouting conducted by Orlandi and his team but also to his unique working method, mentorship and support offered to first-time designers and artists from the four corners of the world. «We do not introduce young designers once. We continue the relationship with them, bring them forward, promote them and make them great by realizing what they are good at doing», Orlandi stated. Among this year's participants will be Citroën, which has created an ultralight electric SUV prototype named Citroën OLI as a proposal for a sustainable city car, produced from recycled materials and, above all, affordable for everyone thanks to the car's light weight to battery size ratio.