After previously announcing a July 26th grand opening date in an interview with SVP Angela Ahrendts, Apple has now revealed an impressive collaboration with 21 artists to celebrate their new Piazza Liberty retail store in Milan, Italy.
As expected, “Cosa farai domani, Milano?” or “What will you do tomorrow, Milan?” is the slogan Apple chose to promote their new store. Yesterday evening, workers covered Piazza Liberty’s glass fountain and entryway with large banners displaying a colorful Apple logo formed from a collage of art styles. A white barrier surrounding the square bears the slogan, with each letter featuring work from one of the 21 artists. An accompanying message is similar to the description found on the updated website for the store:
Each artist featured by Apple in the campaign created artwork that is displayed online alongside a description of the piece and a short artist biography. Apple has also highlighted the tools and apps each used to create their work. The art spans a variety of creative disciplines from digital painting to animation. Here’s a full list of the artists Apple has featured along with links to their work:
Valerio Sommella, product designer
Camilla Ferrari, photographer
Burrnd/Ruggiero Colonna Romano, illustrator
Charlie Charles, musician
Elena Xausa, illustrator
Bea De Giacomo, photographer
L I M /Sofia Gallotti, musician
Olimpia Zagnoli, illustrator
Martina Pastori, director and filmmaker
Karol Sudolsku, digital designer
Caterina Viganò, filmmaker
Giuliano Buttafuoco, illustrator
Arthur Arbesser, fashion designer
Gio Pastori, illustrator
Giorgio Di Salvo, designer and musician
Cristian Acquaro, digital designer
Piotr Niepsuj, photographer
Mecna/Corrado Grilli, musician and graphic artist
Bianca Bagnarelli, cartoonist
Stefano Colferai, animator and illustrator
Elena Salmistraro, product designer
In addition to the online promotion, Apple is hosting several special Today at Apple sessions with the featured artists in Piazza Liberty beginning next week. Kicking off opening day will be live music by L I M. The concert will be the first event to make use of the store’s large amphitheater that descends below the plaza to the retail space below. Live Art, a Photo Lab, and an illustration session will round out the week. Visitors can sign up for the events beginning on July 20th.
Ci siamo finalmente …..
A post shared by Andrea (@piramide74) on Jul 18, 2018 at 11:46pm PDT
Apple has a history of collaborating with local artists for the opening of new stores, and a location as impressive and highly anticipated as Piazza Liberty is certainly fitting for one of their most comprehensive collaborations to date. Apple originally teased the arrival of Piazza Liberty’s store over a year ago, and construction progress has been enthusiastically documented by Milanese citizens ever since. Over the past few weeks, crews have been working around the clock to finish the store’s many highly custom design details for a seamless grand opening. Unpaved sidewalks and rough scaffolding have been polished off in just the last few days. Apple Piazza Liberty opens on July 26th at 5:00 P.M.
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