Giovanna Castiglioni was born in 1972 in Milan, where she still lives.
She set aside her degree in Geology in order to manage the layered complexity of projects within her father Achille Castiglioni’s studio, which is now a museum and foundation open to the public. Giovanna prefers to define herself as the “Narrating Voice” of the Achille Castiglioni Foundation rather than its Vice President.
She coordinates the archival activities of the Foundation’s cultural heritage and promotes the Castiglioni method, addressing a diverse audience in terms of age, culture, and interests, coming from all over the world.
She supports exhibitions on Castiglioni and is, together with Chiara Alessi and Domitilla Dardi, curator of the project 100×100 Achille, which presents a collection of over 100 anonymous objects gifted for the centenary of her father’s birth by more than 100 internationally renowned designers.
She is the author of a series of flipbooks titled Castiglioni in 2 sec., dedicated to: the Lampadina lamp, the Basello mobile piece of furniture, the RR126 radio-phonograph, the Parentesi lamp, and the Dry tableware series, published by Corraini Edizioni.
She curated the exhibition Castiglioni in 2 sec., held between 2020 and 2021 at Galleria Sozzani in Corso Como 10, Milan, featuring part of her collection of objects related to illustrations by Sara Vivan included in the flipbooks she authored.
She is co-author, together with curators Chiara Alessi and Domitilla Dardi, of the book 100×100 Achille, published by Corraini. She wrote a postface in the book Affetti e Oggetti – cenni di un’antropologia famigliare alla Castiglioni by Carlo and Livia Castiglioni, and an essay in the book Pio Manzù – Designer, commissioned by the Fondazione Manzoni Arte e Design.
In 2022 she will be one of the lecturers of the first-level Master in Strategic Design and Creative Direction for Business titled Dalla Ford al fard, promoted by the ABADIR school under the patronage of ADI – Association for Industrial Design and the Achille Castiglioni Foundation.
In 2022 she also leads, together with Michela Dezzani, a series of experimental workshops titled Vietato saper disegnare (“No Drawing Skills Allowed”).
Following a long period spent at home, she also runs, upon request, a workshop on curiosity and the functionality of anonymous objects (the ones that kept us company), inviting participants to bring objects from home to collectively discuss their surprising potential, forms, and histories.
She gives lectures, talks, and workshops around the world, focusing on dynamic interaction with the audience, whom she always asks to do mental gymnastics—and she still doesn’t know what she will be when she grows up.
fondazioneachillecastiglioni.it