Olivetti Universe
Community as a Concrete Utopia

The world tour of the exhibition Olivetti Universe: Community as a Concrete Utopia has arrived in Lisbon, after previously being shown in Ekaterinburg, Berlin, Madrid, and Matosinhos. Organised by the Italian Institute of Culture in Lisbon, under the aegis of the Italian Embassy and in collaboration with maat, the exhibition aims to broaden the understanding of one of the most multi-faceted and extraordinary figures in the history of the twentieth-century Italian and world industry: Adriano Olivetti. An entrepreneur, industrialist, publisher, intellectual, politician, social innovator, and precursor of urbanism, Olivetti combined manufacturing, social responsibility, and a concern for the urban fabric to create a unique, innovative, and avant-garde business model from 1930 to 1960 that revolutionised the 20th century corporate culture and that, even today, is acknowledged to be one of the most up-to-date and advanced examples of sustainability.

Promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organised by MAXXI – Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo and FAO, Fondazione Adriano Olivetti, and curated by Pippo Ciorra from MAXXI and Francesca Limana and Matilde Trevisani from FAO, the exhibition is also supported by Olivetti Spa (main sponsor) and Translated srl (sponsor), in addition to the collaboration of Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti (technical partner), Archivio Nazionale Cinema d’Impresa, Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Archivio Gabetti e Isola, Archivio Gianni Berengo Gardin, CSAC, Laboratorio-Museo Tecnologic@mente di Ivrea, and Rai Teche.