Taglietti: Life in Design

Canberra Museum and Gallery, 7 June 2025–22 February 2026

Curators: Dr Silvia Micheli, Virginia Rigney, Tanja Taglietti

This landmark exhibition delves into the life and career of Italian-Australian architect Enrico Taglietti (1926–2019), a visionary whose design principles shaped modern Australian architecture and left an indelible imprint on Canberra.

Celebrating the centenary of Taglietti’s birth, Taglietti: Life in Design explores the life, philosophy and legacy of one of Australia’s most original architects and his collaborations with his wife Franca.

Enrico Taglietti is renowned for his global presence and for shaping Canberra’s civic architecture and urban landscape. He contributed more than 40 commercial and residential projects across the city, including the award-winning Giralang Primary School and the heritage-listed Center Cinema. His influence also extended beyond Canberra, with works such as St Anthony’s Parish Church in Marsfield and the St Kilda Library in Melbourne.

Alongside original drawings and furniture designed by Taglietti, visitors to the exhibition can experience Taglietti’s visionary design principles through spatial interventions that are integrated throughout the show. Designed by Italian architect Gianmatteo Romegialli, who met Taglietti as a recent graduate and became a close friend and collaborator, these elements embody Taglietti’s core architectural concepts: Dissolving the Facade, Threshold, Framing the Landscape, Compression and Expansion, Growing from the Ground, Breaking the Edge, and Deceiving Gravity.

Each intervention offers an immersive encounter with his innovative design approach. Visitors have the opportunity to work with unique building blocks to assemble their own architectural forms in a recreated form of the architect’s studio.

Taglietti’s curiosity is reflected through artworks, furniture, writing, fashion and travel materials, as well as over 60 original architectural drawings and many never-before-seen photographs of his buildings. 

“It’s a rare chance to understand how one of the most creative architects of our time, both in Australia and internationally, saw the world. For Enrico and his wife Franca, design was far more than a profession – it was a way of life, a totalising dimension they lived and shared with their family, colleagues, and friends.”

– Dr Silvia Micheli, co-curator.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Canberra Museum and Gallery announced a suite of public programs, including an Italian language tour, curator talks, Taglietti’s Songbook – a special performance by the National Opera, education programming and discussions with Taglietti house owners.

The exhibition was made possible through a close collaboration with the Taglietti family, whose archive provided much of the cultural material presented in the exhibition.

View gallery