Lavazza partners with the XXIII International Exhibition of Triennale Milano, sponsors artwork “Under a Coffee Tree”

The XXIII International Exhibition of Triennale Milano, one of the world’s most important international design and architecture events, is the latest manifestation of Lavazza Group’s activism in the field of positive art and the culture of sustainability. Carrying forward the institutional partnership embarked on with Triennale Milano in 2019, the company is the event’s Main Partner and has also sponsored the creation of Under a Coffee Tree, an installation by Burkina Faso-born architect Francis Kéré that symbolises universal human values and the importance of sustainability, which will be on display from July 15 at the entrance to the Triennale coffee shop (renovated in April).

Francis Kéré was recently awarded the prestigious Pritzker Prize, considered the “Nobel for architecture”, thus joining the distinguished ranks of architects like Zaha Hadid, Frank Ghery and Renzo Piano. From Burkina Faso, Kéré is the first African architect to win the Prize.

For the XXIII International Exhibition of Triennale Milano, Francis Kéré curated two installations showcasing a contemporary design language in conversation with vernacular architecture of West Africa. He also designed the seating for the Triennale’s communal spaces. Under a Coffee Tree, his installation sponsored by Lavazza, is made entirely of wood and imagining a coffee plant as a place where people can meet in the shade.  Just as people in West Africa meet in the shade of trees that create public spaces modelled by the trajectory of the sun, so the habit of meeting for a coffee has become a daily ritual all over the world, favouring dialogue and social exchange.

The work also engages with all the senses by inviting the audience to stop and reflect on the theme of “Unknown Unkowns”, the central theme of the XXIII International Exhibition of Triennale Milano, which explores the mysteries of the known world and “what we don’t know we don’t know”. Kéré’s Under a Coffee Tree will enable visitors to pause and share their thoughts on the big questions posed by the other exhibition elements.

“We are proud to continue our collaboration with Triennale Milano, one of the world’s leading cultural organisations, with which we share a belief in the value of positive art that strives to engage people in efforts to bring about sustainable change. With immediacy and power, Kéré’s work speaks of the social role that the ritual of coffee has always played, one that creates moments of encounter and dialogue between people, fostering inclusion and sharing between different cultures,” says Group board member Francesca Lavazza.

But coffee, grown by millions of small farmers whose livelihood depends on this plant, is also a product of the land particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. That is why Lavazza Group has prioritised the value of responsibility and the criteria of environmental and social sustainability, both as a company with over 125 years of experience in the coffee industry and through its Foundation, set up in 2004 and now supporting 32 sustainable development projects in 20 countries across 3 continents, benefiting over 136,000 people.

An institutional partner of Triennale Milano since 2019, Lavazza has for years been promoting the arts and places where culture is generated and channels its energy into the commitment to building a sustainable future. The partnership began three years with the sponsorship of “Nation of Plants”, showcased in the XXII Triennale Milano “Broken Nature”, an immersive exhibition based on the theories of Stefano Mancuso, one of the world’s leading authorities on plant neurobiology.