The ‘Guatemala Diseña con las Manos’ Exhibition at Villa Bagatti Valsecchi

From April 7 to 13, 2025, in the spaces of ALCOVA, “Guatemala Diseña con las Manos” will be showcasing Guatemala’s historical, creative, and cultural richness through the talent and creativity of its designers, bringing together design, art, traditions, and high craftsmanship.

The Guatemala Diseña con las Manos project will bring together fourteen designers and four Guatemalan artisans to explore the fusion of contemporary design and ancestral techniques. The showcase aims to demonstrate design’s transformative potential in responding to the challenges of modern society.

The installation hosting them, set up in Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, is inspired by Temple I of Tikal, known as the Great Jaguar—an iconic 7th-century AD pyramid nearly 40 meters high, a symbol of classical Mayan architecture and a UNESCO heritage site since 1979—and retains its monumentality, albeit in a reduced version.

Made with sustainable materials such as wood, textiles, and braided steel cables, the installation enhances Guatemalan textile art by integrating traditional fabrics made using ancestral techniques.

Designed by Idonika Studio with Amarillo Studio, it is a modular and sustainable structure made of wood and braided steel cables, enriched by the handcrafted textiles of Casa Edel and a sound installation curated by Near Sound Studio in Barcelona, which envelops and transports visitors through the sounds of the jungle and Guatemalan landscapes.

The Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT), which promotes the initiative, aims to raise awareness of the country as a tourist destination and an international reference point for design and craftsmanship.

As the cradle of the Mayan civilisation, Guatemala offers world-renowned locations and places of rare beauty, such as the majestic Antigua Guatemala, the imposing Lake Atitlán, and the ancient Tikal National Park, which continue to attract increasing numbers of visitors.

However, Guatemala is more than its historical and natural treasures: it has embraced contemporary design and local craftsmanship as forms of expression connecting the past to the present and future.

Visiting Guatemala today does not only mean admiring landscapes and monuments but also immersing oneself in its creative and cultural practices: from craftsmanship to design, from art to gastronomy and jewellery, where tradition and innovation come together.

This project wants to convey this message to visitors and the international design community gathered in Milan through the creations and processes of some of the country’s designers and artisans, who work precisely at the intersection between the heritage of traditional artistic practices and a contemporary vision.

Among the designers present at Alcova, inside the large textile pyramid, visitors will be able to admire the works of the Nada Duele collective, with its hand-blown glass and stone wine cups, Cincoxcinco, with a swing chair and a lamp inspired by children’s games, the Kit Tequilero by Emma Gutiérrez for Mayú Handmade, made of blown glass from recycled bottles and inspired by the colours of Guatemalan bird feathers, the playful object with many identities by Estudio Fábrica, which transforms into a pouffe, a chair, or a yoga ball, the series of hand-carved wooden cutting boards by Eliza Babarczy for Itza Wood.

Also on display is the Juega collection by Studio RÖJ, the table accessories by Andrea Carazo for Casa Edel, inspired by the figure of the founder’s grandmother, the textile works of Chivas&Chivas, which revive an ancient technique that is disappearing, the creation by Diego Olivero (above) that transforms a solid material like terracotta into the fabric, the lamps by Estudio Cálido (below), which integrate pre-Hispanic artisanal techniques with contemporary design, the creations by Indigo in organic fibres woven by Indigenous weavers, the Societas collection by MEÜS, born from a collaboration with textile designer Nelly Rose and the artisan cooperatives Chuwila, Las Rosas, and Adiba, the ceramic works of Ana Beatriz Silva, founder of Mira Mira, and the colourful pop bags of Nebula Handmade.

On the occasion of their participation in ALCOVA Milano 2025, the designers Violeta Gutierrez of Chivas & Chivas, Gisel Macdonal of Nada Duele, and Eliza Babarczy of Itza Wood will be present at Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, along with three female weavers: Anaí Ixmukané Gurón Rodríguez, Ligia Esmeralda Tun López, and Milvian Aspuac Cón, who will carry out demonstrations of the traditional Guatemalan technique of the telar de cintura (backstrap loom).

With its participation in Milan Design Week, “Guatemala Diseña con las Manos” expresses and communicates all the talent of its designers and artisans, striking a perfect balance between memory, the value of traditions, creativity, and contemporary vision. It aims to make Guatemala known internationally as a new destination for design and creativity.