Connecting the visual arts through young people and the urban fabric of the capital: this is the aim of “GROUNDS”, the exhibition and fashion show presented by NABA on 1 July at the former Vittorio Locchi boarding school complex – Palazzo Mazzoni, in the heart of Garbatella.
“GROUNDS”: bringing visual arts and fashion design together
The GROUNDS NABA Fashion Show and Visual Arts Exhibition, held under the patronage of Municipio Roma VIII, was developed through a collaboration between NABA’s Visual Arts and Fashion Design Areas. The project was coordinated and curated by Caterina Iaquinta, Course Leader for the BA in Painting and Visual Arts and the MA in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies, and Diego Manfreda, Fashion Design Course Leader. It brings the research developed by the Academy’s students into the public realm, encouraging a broader reflection on the dialogue between education, contemporary practice and urban space.
The event unfolded through a dynamic exhibition itinerary in which visual arts, performance and fashion design came together, placing the body, movement and the relationship with space centre stage.
“GROUNDS”: the NABA Fashion Show 2026 and the “Recipes” concept
The NABA Fashion Show 2026 featured thirteen collections by students on the BA in Fashion Design. The concept for this year’s edition was “Recipes”: an invitation to consider the creative process in fashion as a recipe, in which tradition and experimentation combine to create new forms of expression.
“GROUNDS”: Palazzo Mazzoni, a historic site in the heart of Garbatella
The history of the Vittorio Locchi boarding school
Opened on 28 October 1936, the Vittorio Locchi boarding school was established for the daughters of employees of the Postal and Telegraph Workers’ Institute, primarily orphans. It was designed to provide students with vocational training in a range of disciplines, from sewing, dressmaking, embroidery and weaving to photography, gardening and telegraphy.
The complex and its urban setting
The complex stands on a hill at the eastern edge of Garbatella. In Roman times, the area lay close to the River Almone and was home to a suburban agricultural landscape of villas and farmhouses, together with associated necropolises and cisterns. The Institute’s first President, Roberto De Vito, commissioned its construction to mark his tenth year in office. The design was entrusted to architect Angiolo Mazzoni del Grande in 1935.
GROUNDS thus transformed Palazzo Mazzoni into common ground, where art, fashion and historical memory came together to tell the story of NABA’s six-year presence in the capital.
Would you like to explore NABA’s academic offer? Join the Open Day on 8 September for course presentations, one-to-one guidance sessions and an opportunity to discover the students’ work.
