A day entirely dedicated to Graphic Design at the Romaeuropa Festival, curated by Stefano Cipolla and Studio Mistaker, with coordination by David Aprea: an opportunity to celebrate visual language in all its forms, between creativity, experimentation and cross-contaminations.
REF opens its spaces to a vibrant community of graphic designers, illustrators, typographers and industry enthusiasts, giving life to a rich program of meetings, talks, visual performances and workshops also open to younger children, designed to stimulate curiosity, dialogue and active audience participation.
The beating heart of the event will also be a market exhibition entirely dedicated to independent publishing, where visitors will be able to discover and purchase publications, fanzines, posters and editorial projects outside traditional circuits, coming from graphic studios, creative collectives and small publishers.
A day in which graphic design becomes an experience, a field of exploration and a narrative of the present, in a dynamic atmosphere open to sharing. An invitation to discover how visual design can be a powerful tool of cultural and social expression, capable of connecting people, ideas and stories.
PAPER MARKET
11:00 – 19:00 – Mattatoio – Galleria delle Vasche
EXHIBITORS 2026
Throughout the day, 12 illustrators, exhibitors and designers invited by PAPER, the independent publishing book fair, will animate the Galleria delle Vasche at La Pelanda, Mattatoio.
DITO Publishing, Rome
Krisis Publishing, Brescia
Leporello photobooks, Rome
les cerises, Paris/Rome
Numero Cromatico, Rome
OFFICINEAMARO | design studio, Gagliano del Capo (LE)
Studio Pica, Palermo
XEROXED, Padua
KIDS WORKSHOP
Held throughout the day in different time slots (reservation required), workshops dedicated to children curated by Betterpress Lab and Galleria Varsi.
11:00 – 11:45 / 12:00 – 12:45 / 15:00 – 15:45 / 16:00 – 16:45 / 17:00 – 17:45 – Mattatoio – Cellette
Che Typo Sei? (+ 5 years old / + 8 years old)
curated by Betterpress Lab
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PROGRAMME TALKS – Free admission until full capacity is reached
11:00 – 13:00 – Mattatoio T1
THESIS PROJECTS
Moderated by David Aprea, four students and as many supervisors from the main design schools in Rome—IED, ISIA, NABA and RUFA—present a graduation thesis selected from among their students’ work. With this panel, REF shares the Design Talks space with students and faculty members (often partners in various multidisciplinary festival projects and activities), presenting their academic paths and highlighting their creative excellence.
11:30 – 13:00 – Mattatoio Galleria delle Vasche
BOUNDARIES
A dialogue between Stefano Cipolla and Francesco Valtolina brings together two key figures in contemporary editorial graphic design. Cipolla, graphic designer and journalist, is art director of L’Espresso after a long career at publications such as la Repubblica and il manifesto, as well as extensive teaching activity in editorial design. Valtolina, a Milan-based creative director, is art director of Mousse Magazine and co-founder of the Dallas studio, through which he has developed projects for cultural institutions, publishers and international art-world organisations. A meeting dedicated to the relationship between graphic design, publishing and contemporary visual culture.
15:00 – 17:30 – Mattatoio T1
PANEL AND TALKS
Starting at 15:00 and continuing at 16:30, the two core Design Talks events take place.
The first, moderated by Martina Tariciotti from Studio Mistaker, will feature a panel with Due Studio, Tiziana Alocci and Federico Antonini, presenting different approaches and experiences in the field of design and visual communication. This will be followed by a keynote talk featuring Stefano Cipolla in conversation with Studio Temp.
18:00 – Mattatoio – Galleria delle Vasche
DESIGN SPACES hosted by Valerio Di Mario
