Saturday 23 / May / 2026
Muscat: Under the patronage of Her Highness Sayyida Mayan bint Shihab bin Tarik Al Said, Chairwoman of the Oman Design Association (Design Oman), the National Museum inaugurated on Saturday (23 May 2026), the exhibition ‘One to a Million: Italian Design Stories’ in collaboration with ADI Design Museum, Milano (Associazione Per il Disegno Industriale Museum), under the curatorship of Maria Cristina Didero and in cooperation with illustrator Steven Guarnaccia.
The exhibition, the first of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman, offers a creative journey through the history of modern Italian industrial design by presenting a collection of distinguished objects that have become integral to our wider understanding of Italy’s creative industries.
It highlights the fusion of artistic innovation and industrial production, and their impact on the details of everyday life.
The exhibition will run until 1 November 2026. The exhibition features a carefully curated selection of works that received the prestigious Compasso d’Oro Award, the oldest and most distinguished design award in the Italian Republic, established in 1954 following an idea conceived by the modernist architect and designer Gio Ponti.
Through these works, the exhibition presents a renewed and contemporary perspective on some of the most significant achievements in Italian design from the post-Second World War period to the present day.
“One to a Million: Italian Design Stories” unfolds as a non-linear journey, interpreting design not merely as a formal outcome or a technical function, but as a vehicle for innovative and unexpected trajectories.
By bringing together critical frameworks, documentary materials, and visual interventions, the exhibition traces the history of Italian design, connecting precision and experimentation with their influence on everyday life.
Among the featured works are the “Superleggera” chair by Gio Ponti, the “UP” seating series by Gaetano Pesce, the “Abitacolo” structure by Bruno Munari, the “Doney 14” television designed by Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper, in addition to the “Lettera 22” typewriter and the “Mirella” sewing machine by Marcello Nizzoli.
Each object is accompanied by a text written in an unconventional style, from which the contemporary Italian graphic designer Steven Guarnaccia drew his own artistic vision.
His illustrations do not merely reproduce the objects’ forms; rather, they introduce artistic dimensions and visual contrasts that move them beyond the sphere of everyday use, revealing their hidden stories and symbolic meanings.
Jamal bin Hassan al-Moosawi, Secretary General of the National Museum of Oman, affirmed that this is the first exhibition of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman, narrating the journey of modern Italian industrial design and revealing the transformations that have shaped its identity over recent decades through a synthesis of creativity, innovation, industry, and fine craftsmanship.
Presented through an exceptional selection of works, the exhibition redefines the relationship between humanity and the object.
His Excellency added: “This exhibition continues the National Museum’s ongoing commitment to celebrate pioneering international experiences in the field of industrial design and reaffirms its position as a cultural platform.
The Museum also seeks to contribute to shaping a distinguished Omani vision for industrial design, one that belongs to the spirit of the age while remaining deeply rooted in history.
Oman’s rich and diverse artisanal and artistic heritage constitutes a living reference point and a renewed source of inspiration: a vision that rearticulates identity through a confident universal language, combining the purity of authenticity with the boldness of innovation, while establishing a lasting and influential Omani presence within the international design landscape.”
Pierluigi D’Elia, Ambassador of the Italian Republic accredited to the Sultanate of Oman, stated: “Supporting the exhibition ‘One to a Million: Italian Design Stories’ reflects the Embassy of Italy’s continued commitment to promoting cultural dialogue and creative exchange between Italy and the Sultanate of Oman.
Through our cooperation with the National Museum of Oman and the ADI Design Museum, Milano, we are proud to contribute to an initiative that celebrates the excellence of Italian design while fostering mutual understanding, innovation, and inspiration among future generations.
This exhibition stands as another meaningful milestone in the growing cultural partnership and friendship between our two countries.”
On his part, Dr. Andrea Cancellato, Director of the ADI Design Museum, Milano stated: “the concept of this exhibition starts from two objects that appear to be worlds apart: a pen beloved by Italian designers, the Tratto Pen, and a car dreamed of by every visitor to the museum, a Ferrari.
One object is produced and sold on a mass scale, and another that, by choice, remains highly exclusive.”
He added: “Within this apparent contrast lies the entire history of Italian design: a history of large-scale production of objects that are useful, high-performing, affordable, easy to handle, durable, pleasant, and charming; and a history of products such as Ferraris, born from an extreme pursuit of materials, performance, shapes, and colours — exclusive not only because of their cost, but above all because of the level of commitment they demand from potential buyers and users.”
“The result is a body of work that moves between past and present, addressing ingenuity and discipline, intuition and skill, success and failure, and affirming imagination as a sustained force within the design field.
This exhibition focuses on the human and evocative qualities of objects — a quality I have always recognized as the highest value a product can have,” explains Didero.
The exhibition is founded upon a striking contrast that reflects the inclusivity of Italian industrial design: between the “Tratto Pen”, an everyday object produced in the millions and obtainable at the modest market value of one euro, and the exclusivity of the yellow Ferrari car, a symbol of aspiration produced in singular or limited series.
Through this juxtaposition, the exhibition reinforces the idea that excellence does not reside in cost or scale of production, but rather in the clarity of the concept and its capacity to assume a meaningful form.
The exhibition space was designed by the Italian architectural ACPV Architects office, founded by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, in order to enhance the exhibition’s narrative and conceptual dimensions, while Leftloft developed the graphic design to create a dynamic and coherent visual system.
The exhibition is arranged through interwoven interpretive layers comprising objects, texts, illustrations, and site-specific artistic installations, offering visitors both the material and imaginative dimensions of design.
The exhibition presents visitors with a critical and imaginative perspective on more than seventy years of modern Italian design, inviting them to view design as an ongoing dialogue in which serial production coexists with uniqueness.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Oman Design Association (Design Oman) and ADI Design Museum, Milano.
The MoU aims to establish a framework for joint cooperation and the exchange of knowledge and expertise between the two sides.
This will be achieved through organising mentorship programs and international workshops for young designers, as well as participating in global exhibitions and design weeks.
The MoU was signed on the Omani side by Her Highness Sayyida Mayan bint Shihab bin Tarik Al Said, Chairwoman of the Oman Design Association (Design Oman), and on the Italian side by Dr. Andrea Cancellato, Director of the ADI Design Museum, Milano.
ADI Design Museum, Milano, located in the Italian city of Milan, is a vibrant cultural centre and an international platform dedicated to promoting the culture of industrial design.
The museum houses the permanent collection of the Compasso d’Oro, documenting the history of Italian design from 1954 to the present day.
Since its opening in 2021, the museum has played an active role within the international museum network, linking the world of design with business, fashion, architecture, and science.
The museum is housed in a historic 1930s building that formerly served as a carriage depot and later as an electricity distribution station.
It has undergone an innovative restoration process that preserved its industrial architectural identity while transforming it into a contemporary space featuring galleries, a library, and event venues.
The museum contributes to redefining the cultural identity of its surrounding district in the heart of Milan, where it connects via an open pedestrian arcade to Chinatown, forming a new urban axis dedicated to design.
