Co-directors:

Ester Alba Pagán

Jorge Sebastián Lozano

The main objectives of the Càtedra Arxiu Valencià del Disseny (CAVD) are to carry out activities that promote the recovery and conservation of documentary materials generated by design practice, and to conduct research and facilitate the transfer of knowledge relating to design culture. The Arxiu Valencià del Disseny (AVD), with over 40,000 documents from 25 bequests, is responsible for the acquisition, conservation, documentation, management and dissemination of this culture, and the Chair aims to maximise the potential for this vast knowledge base to be utilised and to benefit Valencian society.

The AVD’s primary role within the Valencian Community’s design system is to generate useful knowledge about design by promoting and safeguarding an experience that has been fundamental to Valencia’s economic development and Valencian identity. It encompasses the various categories of design (product, industrial, graphic, communication, interior design, etc.), formats and elements of the design system that attest to best practice in design—of which the AVD possesses abundant examples—and to its capacity to drive sustainable models for the generation of redistributable wealth. In this sense, preserving the memory of design to build the future is what makes this experience unique, whilst also serving as the foundation that enables us to develop

It is therefore necessary to preserve the memory of design culture in the Valencian Community through the collection, conservation and cataloguing of documentation produced by the key players in the design system, such as professionals, design service companies, the design departments of leading Valencian companies, institutions promoting design, and cultural activities and initiatives relating to design carried out by various social actors. The ultimate aim is to ensure that this legacy, which embodies historical memory, can be fully utilised: consulted, studied, disseminated and made available for research into design and the economic and social impact of design, based on original documentation relating to the processes of creation, production, dissemination, sale and use of design objects, communications and services.

In this regard, the open and freely accessible nature of all the documentation produced is complemented by the CAVD’s commitment to involving all stakeholders in the Valencian design system.

Contact:

avd@uv.es