New routes, a new spirit of participation, and new events are in store for the 53rd Barcolana sailing race, scheduled for Sunday, October 10th, and preceded by a rich bill of events both onshore and online starting on October 1st. In keeping with a tradition that began seven years ago, the first official communication of the new edition is the presentation of illycaffè’s poster for the event.
After Michelangelo Pistoletto (2015), Gillo Dorfles (2016), Maurizio Galimberti (2017), Marina Abramović (2018), Olimpia Zagnoli (2019) and Lorenzo Mattotti (2020), illycaffè, entrusted with the artistic direction of the poster, chose the renowned designer, architect and artist, Ron Arad for the 53rd Barcolana.
To represent Barcolana53, Ron Arad, who likes to conceptually re-draw shapes and structures, exploring different techniques, has created a minimalist poster in which essential, sinuous lines give life to the very essence of a regatta: the sea, the boats and their sails. Sailing thus takes on new forms, thanks to the aesthetic and innovative characteristics of the poster, which Ron Arad designed with a special brush that can reproduce traditional painting techniques in a digital medium. Through lines, colours and images evoking nautical charts and maps, he invites us to begin a conscious journey along new routes.
“Le Nuove Rotte” [“New Routes”] is also the motto of the 2021 edition, highlighting the innovation Barcolana is bringing about, creating new events both on land and at sea, new opportunities for local development, and new directions for the issues it strongly believes in – environmental sustainability and gender equality – and wants to promote through sport and a passion for sailing and the sea.
“This year, illycaffè chose a designer for our poster – explained Mitja Gialuz, president of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, – and it was the best possible choice to represent Barcolana’s new routes – because through his precise lines, Ron Arad highlights the essence of sailing, the sea, and our regatta. And when the essential is clear, it is possible to focus on what’s important, evolve, and put forward what is both new and indispensable. This is how Barcolana53 introduces itself: the essence of the event, the tradition that brings sailing enthusiasts together, and the innovation that will take us far, all of us, in the name of the sea. We have many new developments planned, regattas and events to promote Trieste and welcome sailing enthusiasts. Registrations begin on June 29, and on that date, starting with the essence that Ron Arad and illycaffè have pointed us towards, we will sail new routes together”.
“We are happy to renew the partnership between illy and Barcolana for this 53rd edition. Ours are deep ties that have endured for over 20 years and are embodied in the rite of designing the poster, which this year was entrusted to Ron Arad, a great contemporary artist and an icon of international design, who had already designed one of the illy Art Collection pieces back in 2017” says Massimiliano Pogliani, CEO of illycaffè. “Sea and navigation as a source of artistic inspiration, masterfully interpreted by Ron Arad’s creative genius, who managed to create a unique and deeply contemporary poster in terms of its aesthetic impact. An act of beauty and art, to pay tribute to the city of Trieste, the world of sailing, and the love of good coffee”.
Barcolana is scheduled for October 10th 2021 in the Gulf of Trieste, starting at 10.30. Online registration begins June 29 at www.barcolana.it. Today, 400 flyers and 4000 postcards with the poster’s design will be sent from the headquarters of Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and addressed to yacht clubs and shipowners who participated in past editions, to promote the event directly among its protagonists.
