The Arxiu Valencià del Disseny increases its collection with the donation of Bascuñán and Albors.

The objectives of the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny include the diffusion and accessibility of its collection through its digitalization and online access, as well as the study and research of the world of design to consolidate it and enhance its value.The entity's collection is made up of donations from numerous Valencian designers and artists, now including Bascuñán and Albors.

Toghether with Eduardo Albors himself and the heirs of Paco Bascuñán, the event was attended by the Principal of the University of Valencia, Maria Vicenta Mestre. She highlighted the figure of Albors and Bascuñán as great Valencian designers.

‘We receive this donation to articulate our memory of the most recent past and present, in the field of graphic design. We accept this donation with pride: pride in the work carried out by these two great designers; pride in their generosity and trust in the University. But we also accept it with responsibility: to study, cultivate and preserve this work for the knowledge of future generations is the commitment that we assume at the UV’, said the Principal.

In his words, Albors expressed ‘the pride and honour of being able to participate in this project, a project that will allow future generations to know in depth and with accurate information everything that has been done over the last 50 years in the world of the Valencian design.’

Guadalupe Martínez, Bascuñan’s widow said that ‘my daughters and I are very pleased that Paco’s work is in the Arxiu’. On the other hand, she stressed that ‘the Arxiu is a milestone for Valencian society, as it allows us to protect people’s work and safeguard our history in order to improve as society. Because if we do not protect our history, we will not be able to move into the future'.

Ester Alba (UV), co-director of the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny, remarked that these donations consolidate the Arxiu ‘as a centre through which to preserve the legacy of professional Valencian design, while also positioning itself as a laboratory of innovation and creativity’. Alba pointed out that the Arxiu is transformed ‘into a place to preserve, protect and spread the history and evolution of applied arts and product design, but with a marked character thanks to the enhancement of the collections and their dissemination through their digitalisation and open access, which must serve as a boost to the creativity and innovation of today's Valencian industrial fabric'.

Xavier Giner (EASD), said that with these donations ‘an historical debt with the Valencian design is settled’. He added that ‘Through these donations, cultural heritage of Valencian people, the Arxiu safeguards the collections of donors, who are professional designer, and of Valencian companies, which through design were a national and international reference and showed a marked innovative character that can be a reference for future generations, an engine of economic and sustainable development for Valencian industry and an agent of innovation’.

Also present at the donation ceremony were Antonio Ariño, Vice-Principal for Culture and Sport; Cristóbal Suria, manager of the UV General Foundation; Rosa Esteban, director of the EASD València; Vicent Martínez, designer and one of the founders and donors of the Arxiu Valencià; and several academic members of the UV and the EASD.

The work of Bacuñán and Albors, trained at the old School of Arts and Crafts of Valencia, the forerunner of today’s EASD València, provides an insight into the last 30 years of the best Valencian design. On the one hand, Paco Bascuñán’s legacy is the beginning of the recognition he received as a creator committed to his time and to culture. Bascuñán, member of La Nau group, represents, like few others, the take-off of the Valencian design in the 80s. With this donation, graphic design is incorporated to the Arxiu collection, thus making possible a more comprehensive reading of the contributions that designers have made in the field of creativity and innovation.

Bascuñán’s donation includes a large amount of applied and promotional graphic design material from Valencian companies and organisations, such as the Generalitat Valenciana, the Valencia City Council, the Valencian Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) or the Valencian Museum of Enlightenment and Modernity (MUVIM).

On the other hand, Eduardo Ablors, who also belonged to La Nau, was a pioneer in the internationalisation of the designer’s work. Albors shows an international approach applied to design, especially in lighting, as well as being one of the founders of Caps i Mans. Albors’ donation consists of several volumes and publications on lighting design, 46 presentation folders, 78 drafts for renderings, one protodesign light (FLY de Antares) and a plasticized fabric poster of the FLY de Antares light.

The Arxiu Valencià del Disseny was founded in March 2018 with the constitution of the working group made up of the University of Valencia, Generalitat Valenciana and EASD. It is managed through the UV General Foundation andbased at the Faculty of Geography and History of the University of Valencia.