Mariacristina Gribaudi, entrepreneur  

CREATIVE-PRODUCTIVE WOMB

She dreamed of becoming a teacher—a childhood inclination toward an educational space, the classroom, which, in light of MC.G.’s later life and professional experiences, reflects a primordial image and sensation of a “womb” that propels vitality and growth. This space nurtures and cares in a way that is both creative and transitional.

A sense of transience took shape in MC.G. through two pivotal experiences: the grief she endured at twenty after losing her fiancé in a mountain accident, and her empathy for her father, who, at her same age, had faced loss and deportation, stripped of his dignity during imprisonment in a German concentration camp.

With her father’s support, who offered her a job in the family business, MC.G. managed to transform her pain into a vitality to be reclaimed, embarking on a new life along a path entirely her own.

The concept of the womb—not just the maternal womb that gave life to four children and welcomed two others—defines her entire professional journey. It finds expression in the sense of motherhood that accompanies her continuous creation (for herself and others) of welcoming workplaces: spaces where the maternal instinct merges with an educational purpose.

The concept of the womb took tangible form in her professional life, first with Casa di Sven, a container store providing furnishings for other containers: the homes of her clients. Later, it emerged in the key factory she co-managed with her husband, embracing full gender equality. MC.G. saw the factory not just as a site of production but as an educational space—much like a classroom—that nurtured and transformed people, becoming a womb of human relationships. This idea also extended to the Civic Museums of Venice, which she transformed into welcoming spaces of art, inclusive and accessible to all. 

MC.G.’s journey represents a quest for the life purpose the Japanese call Ikigai, symbolised by the concentric convergence of profession, vocation, mission, and passion. This intertwines with choices aimed at pursuing work one loves, work for which one has talent, work that generates income, and work the world needs.

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