València, Porta al Disseny. Exportació dels nostres productes als segles XIX i XX’ can be visited free of charge every day between 11.00 and 18.00 in the Clock Building.
The exhibition organised by Valenciaport brings the ingenuity, creativity and originality of Valencian producers and designers of the 19th and 20th centuries closer to the public in order to sell their products to the world.
In the first week, an average of 300 people a day have visited the exhibition, which includes labels and posters for products such as oranges, wines and liqueurs
A journey through design and creativity, through the products of Valencian companies, through the history and traditions of our land and through the importance of the Port of Valencia as a gateway for the entry and exit of goods, but also of culture and people. All this is reflected in the exhibition organised by the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) ‘Valencia, Gateway to Design. Exportació dels nostres productes als segles XIX i XX’. An exhibition that in its first week has been seen by 2,000 people who have already visited the Clock Building of the Port of Valencia.
Tigers in Gandia, a fallera giving a box of oranges to her counterpart in Rotterdam, jazz groups, pirates from Carcaixent, an aviator from Alcira,… are just some of the motifs that inspired the designers of the 19th and early 20th centuries to accompany Valencian products – especially oranges, wines and liqueurs – on their journey to be consumed all over the world.
These pioneers, both for their exporting vocation and openness to the world and for their creativity and ingenuity as forerunners of design, will delight locals and tourists who these days will visit the exhibition with which the Port of Valencia wants to show the importance of maritime transport and exportation for Valencian society.
In ‘València, Porta al Disseny. Exportació dels nostres productes als segles XIX i XX’, visitors can see the process of internationalisation of Valencian companies through export using posters to sell Valencian products. 300 labels and posters of oranges, wines, liquors and other Valencian products, as well as packaging, bottles and objects of the period, accompanied by photographs of the day-to-day life of the Port of Valencia during that period. This free exhibition can be visited from Monday to Sunday between 11.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. until 6 November in the Clock Building.
The exhibition offers an explanatory tour that goes from the traditionalist and picturesque image, to the classical world and mythology, and the exotic or modern. In the design of these labels, the importance of the sea was also evident in the use of motifs such as sailing ships and steamers or maps alluding to the connections between the Valencian territory and other countries. The creative artists of the time also used the language of the destination of the articles, including traditional characters and landscapes of those countries, in an effort to strengthen commercial relations.
The exhibition also reflects the introduction around the middle of the 20th century of health associated with beauty, sport and childhood that focused attention on the qualities and benefits of the product that was aimed directly at the consumer. Cinematic and cultural references were also used, using characters from the big screen, art or world literature as a lure. The brand images are testimony to the Valencian creativity that, thanks to the improvements in the means of transport and especially to the Port of Valencia, travelled and took our art and our land all over the world.
With this exhibition, the Port Authority of Valencia joins in the celebration of the city of Valencia as World Design Capital 2022, making known the importance that the Port had and has in the export of Valencian products and the designs that accompany them.