From today, the Clock Building of the Port of Valencia is hosting the exhibition that shows the importance of design and export to open the doors of any country in the world to Valencian companies.
Nearly 300 labels of Valencian products can be seen in the exhibition ‘València, Porta al Disseny. Exportació dels nostres productes als segles XIX i XX’ (Valencia, Gateway to Design. Exporting our products in the 19th and 20th centuries).
It can be visited free of charge until 6 November in the Clock Building from Monday to Sunday between 11.00 and 18.00 hours
Design, export, companies and the history of the Port of Valencia and the Valencians come together in the exhibition ‘València, Porta al Disseny. Exportació dels nostres productes als segles XIX i XX’ which opened its doors today in the Clock building of the Port of Valencia. The exhibition features 300 labels and posters of oranges, wines, liqueurs and other Valencian products, as well as packaging, bottles and objects from the period. A collection that highlights the entrepreneurial, open and creative vocation of the Valencian companies that conquered the world with their products through the Port of Valencia.
Valencian traditions, the exoticism of distant lands, the customs of other countries, the goodness of our products, the influence of great masters of art, the joy of the youngest. These are just some of the ideas that the graphic designers and cartoonists of the 19th and 20th centuries used to sell the products of the Valencian Community to the world through the Port of Valencia.
The president of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), Aurelio Martínez, emphasised that “in this exhibition you can see how Valencian companies from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century internationalised and used posters to promote Valencian products all over the world. In the exhibition you can appreciate this enterprising Valencian character, a period of splendour for the port as it was key for all these products to reach international markets”. The President of the APV also thanked all the people who have taken part in making this compilation, among them people who have lent material, to see what the golden century of Valencian export and posters was like.
The Port of Valencia at the side of its citizens
The Clock Building of the Port of Valencia is hosting the exhibition ‘València, Porta del Disseny. Exportació dels nostres productes als segles XIX i XX’ from 3 October to 6 November, a free exhibition that can be visited every day between 11.00 and 18.00 hours. The central theme of the exhibition, curated by Ester Medán and Inma Liñana, is to display the labelling and posters of Valencian food products from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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.
“The Port of Valencia has been committed to its city and its area of influence since its beginnings and not only to trade, but also to culture. For us it is essential to be at València’s side by doing our bit, this time in the celebration of the World Design Capital”, explains Aurelio Martínez.
Xavi Calvo, general director of World Design Capital Valencia 2022, indicated that “this exhibition explains very well how design is linked to tradition and Valencian companies and shows how for more than 100 years it has been making companies more competitive. From here we set trends in design and exported all over the world”.
Activities for all audiences
In addition, the exhibition has a space where educational workshops are held for children to learn the printing techniques used by Valencian creators. In these workshops, participants are introduced to the design and production of the silk paper used to wrap citrus fruits in order to create their own fruit wrappings.
In recent years, the Port of Valencia has hosted numerous exhibitions such as “Quino. Mafalda y mucho más”, “Imágenes imborrables”, “Plànols, Maquetes i Mestres d’Aixà del Port de València” or “La Dàrsena Històrica del Port de València: Progrés i Modernitat” or “Això és TEU – 5.000.000”, bringing culture closer to the citizens of Valencia. The emblematic Clock Building has become a cultural meeting point for residents and visitors to the city of Valencia, in a commitment by the PAV to bring port activity closer and promote art and culture among the citizens.