A second edition rich in surprises, inspiration and visions beyond the contemporary: “PLAI”, the innovative exhibition-playground by NABA conceived by Vincenzo Cuccia (Media Design and New Technologies and Set Design Area Leader) and Michele Aquila (MA in Creative Media Production Course Leader), was held from 25 to 27 March 2025 at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema, the historic Milanese cinema.
The exhibition, created to explore the state of the art of experimentation in the creative field, enabled the many visitors attending from the opening on 25 March to discover projects by students from the MA in Creative Media Production, developed through the use of diverse technologies and expressive languages: from multimedia installations to documentaries, from immersive Virtual Reality experiences to audiovisual experimentation created with Artificial Intelligence, as well as sound design and video podcast production.
This second edition of the event was characterised by the theme of the “Altrove” (Elsewhere): a unifying thread connecting the installations on display and a concept in dialogue with the NABA Cinema Awards, the Academy’s event that recognises the best audiovisual projects created by students from the Media Design and New Technologies and Set Design Areas, held on 26 and 27 March 2025 in Milan, also at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema.
As Michele Aquila explains in the exhibition's curatorial statement, for students, the value of the elsewhere lies in the design process rather than in the final destination. This perspective was reflected in the exploration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and in experimentation with immersive tools such as virtual reality: we do not know precisely where they will lead, but along the way, unforeseen possibilities may emerge. The projects presented at PLAI therefore explored future scenarios that may one day guide us all towards an elsewhere that becomes an act of imagination and a design challenge.
The exhibition animated the spaces of Anteo Spazio del Cinema, articulated across several Sections. The Sala Nobel hosted the Documentary Section, presenting projects by students who, throughout their journey at NABA, explored new approaches through unconventional perspectives, the reinterpretation of archival materials and hybridisation with computer graphics and AI. The same space also hosted, on the occasion of the opening, a live audiovisual performance during which the audience experienced generative music and imagery.
The Interactive Media Section was dedicated to the exploration of non-linear storytelling and hybrid languages, allowing visitors to experience a different form of elsewhere through projects developed with Virtual Reality and AI. Sala Ciak hosted the Multimedia Installation Section, focusing on a range of themes: from society’s obsession with visibility to the relationship with tradition, from the interaction between adults and children to the connection with imagination and the unconscious. The exhibition path concluded with two projects from the Sound Design Section.
PLAI 2025 was also accompanied by a dedicated fanzine exploring the projects on display, with a special focus on Artificial Intelligence in the insert entitled “AI Field Guide”. On NABA’s YouTube channel, students from the MA in Creative Media Production, guided by NABA Lecturer Federico Bernocchi, explored the elsewhere through a series of video podcasts dedicated to the theme of the exhibition within cinema.
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