Marmo + Mac, the leading global event for the natural stone industry is holding it’s 54th Trade Fair for stone, technology, design, and trade fair this September 25-28, 2019 in Verona, Italy. For this season, the committee invited Moroccan designer Hicham Lahlou to be their distinguished guest. In April 2019, Lahlou previously presented his design project “African Sounds” in Milan. The project was originally introduced at the Medinit Expo in Casablanca, yet, the Milan “Salon de Mobile Fair” was the designer’s first time showing abroad. African Sounds are presented in collaboration with the Italian Brand CITCO, a leader in the marble industry. Lahlou’s work incorporated marble castanets from Gnawa music which paid a tribute to Moroccan culture and identity. For the Verona event, he will speak on the subject of design in the context of the economy and how it can impact Africa’s Global South.
Lahlou is considered one of the great leaders of African and Arab design abroad and an emblematic figure of the new generation of designers. His work “always imbued with cultural and identity references, subtly integrated into modern lines and it is his very personal touch that has allowed him to be noticed in this environment as elitist as codified.”
The theme for the 2019 edition of MarmoMac is “Naturality.” It is meant to promote the geodiversity and unique factors of natural stones. There will be special attention placed on the material essence of stone and how mankind has molded it for their personal use.
The 2018 edition was attended by over 68,000 visitors from 150 countries. 1,616 exhibitors from 55 countries presented. 2019 is estimated to have an even larger turnout. In addition to exhibitions, the event will run several workshops with an educational focus on interior designers. The goal is to provide more insight into the features of natural stone products to better serve end customers. The event is also the ideal place to make new business relationships with architects, designers, and engineers.