NABA presents “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest”, the festival created to celebrate and reflect the evolution of languages, styles and means of communication, and to recognise the best projects developed during the 2024/25 Academic Year by students from the Communication and Graphic Design Area at the Academy’s Milan and Rome campuses.
“Eco-Systema” opens the NABA Public Program season and will take place at the NABA Milan campus (via C. Darwin, 20) from 15 to 21 January, and, in its Roman edition, on 22 January 2026 at Opificio Romaeuropa (via dei Magazzini Generali, 20/A, Rome).
The Festival originates from the very idea and meaning of an ecosystem: a set of elements that coexist, interact and define one another. Within this creative process, each student is represented by a symbol-the fundamental element of visual communication-which becomes the core of the project and a metaphor for the students’ active role in shaping their own artistic space.
NABA presents “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest”: the Milan programme
In Milan, from 15 to 21 January 2026, “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest” will unfold through a series of public events hosted at the Academy’s Milan campus, with Fedrigoni as the festival’s partner throughout the entire programme.
The festival opens on 15 January at 5:30 PM, in Classroom G 0.4, with the Awards Ceremony celebrating the best student projects: the NABA Communication Awards. The projects were selected by a jury of over 40 established professionals from the world of communication, chaired by Stefania Siani (Chief Creative Officer at Serviceplan Italia and President of ADCI - Art Directors Club Italiano).
Following this, at 6:30 PM, the Academy’s Spazio Arena will host the exhibition's opening, featuring a display curated by Francesco Zanot (Academic Master in Photography and Visual Design Course Leader). Drawing inspiration from the concept of the archive, the display brings together prints and videos that present the award finalist projects and the most representative works from the previous Academic Year, created by students from the Bachelors of Arts in Graphic Design and Art Direction and Comics and Visual Storytelling, the Masters of Arts in Visual Design and Integrated Marketing Communication and in User Experience Design, and the Academic Masters in Sustainable Innovation Communication and in Creative Advertising.
The exhibition will remain open to visitors until 21 January, including during the Open Day on 17 January, except on Sunday 18 January. Further information on opening hours is available at this link.
“Eco-Systema” will continue with a series of activities and projects curated by the Academy’s Communication and Graphic Design Area, in particular by Patrizia Moschella (Communication and Graphic Design Area Leader) and the Area’s Course Leaders Giulia Conti, Fabio Pelagalli and Samuel Mathias Zitelli:
- On 16 January at 4:00 PM, in Classroom G 0.4, the round table “Re-design democracy” will take place to present the visual works produced by students on the graphic theme of peace and democracy, as part of Civic City, a project created to give a voice to new generations from countries all over the world on the theme of democracy. Speakers will include designer Ruedi Baur, copywriter Giuseppe Mazza, Patrizia Moschella, Fabio Pelagalli, and lecturers Susanna Cerri (Civic City member) and Annalisa Gatto.
- On 19 January, starting from 4:00 PM, in Classroom G 0.4, the talk series “Narrazioni visive del contemporaneo” will take place, beginning with a session focused on the theme of publishing, curated by Roberto Clemente (NABA lecturer). At 5:00 PM, Erik Kessels (artist and designer) will deliver the talk “The ecology of every day”, during which he will explore how visual communication today intersects with the disciplines of art and design, creating a visual hybrid that breaks away from the conventions of classical communication and opens up new possibilities for the use of media and messaging. Finally, at 6:00 PM, a talk by Roberto Santillo (Creative Director, Global Publishing, The Walt Disney Company Italia) will take place.
- On 20 January, Classroom D 1.1 will host, at 5:00 PM, the presentation of the book “La triplice Copia, Teoria e critica della simulazione” by Alessandro Isidoro Re. The author will be present together with Simone Domenico Liscio (Special Programmes Course Leader), followed at 6:00 PM by a meeting with Vanna Vinci (Italian comic artist and illustrator).
- On 21 January at 3:00 PM, in Classroom D 1.2, the meeting “Ricomprendere l’AI” will take place, presenting the book “Nati cyborg. Cosa l’intelligenza artificiale generativa ci dice dell’essere umano” by Claudio Paolucci, with contributions from the author together with Giacomo Festi (NABA lecturer).
NABA Communication Awards 2025 in Milan: the winning projects
During the NABA Communication Awards ceremony in Milan, the winning projects were announced. Awards were divided into Undergraduate and Postgraduate, and further grouped into the following subcategories.
NABA Communication Awards 2025 in Milan: Undergraduate winning projects
- Comics: “Tofu in missione” by George Conga
- Digital Art: “Oltre la caduta” by Filippo Quartarulli
- Editorial Design: “Obliquo” by Francesca Avvisati
- Experimental Visual: “Sé riflesso” by Talita Diatto
- Illustration: “Boom! Poi sono nato” by Alice Bartoli
- New Comers: “Voci dal mare” by Elena Incasa
- Photography: “Archivio del desiderio e della perdita” and “La mia piccola insurrezione desiderante” by Manuel Petrone
- Video: “Skin Deep” by Sabrina Capotorto
NABA Communication Awards 2025 in Milan: Postgraduate winning projects
- Advertising: “Cupid is retiring by Okcupid®” by Gabriela Muñoz Benavides, Yao Juo-Cih, Mariana Zuluaga Duque
- Brand Communication Design: “re:wear” by Giulia Francio, Virginia Marcon
- Digital Art: “Buzz” by Li Xinmiao, Federica Schenatti, Valeria Strafile
- Editorial Design: “ZEITSCHRIFT – The Timeless Magazine” by Maria Ophelie Delphine Noirette-Kopp
- Photography: “6ENSE” by Meiwei Li, Jiaqi Zhou
- UX/UI: “Cosmos” by Veich Ong
NABA Communication Awards 2025 in Milan: Special Prizes
- Killing Brief, in collaboration with Fedrigoni (event partner): “Parfum à la carte” by Giulia Banfi and Patricia Jaymes Obregon
- NABA for Good: “Real Second Life” by Jimena Blanco Quiroga, Madalina Gusa, Zilin Chen, Shulok Ohri, Miriam Montoya
- Humor – Undergraduate Advertising Project: “Solo a sentire Test Renale Te la fai addosso?” by Silvana Paolicelli, Gabriele Poggioli, Nicola Riccardo Schiuma
- Grand Prix – Postgraduate Advertising Project: “re:wear” by Giulia Francio, Virginia Marcon
NABA presents “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest”: the Rome schedule
“Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest” will also take place in Rome on 22 January, when, at 5:00 PM at Opificio Romaeuropa, the presentation of the projects by students from the Rome campus competing in the NABA Communication Awards will be held, followed by the Round Table “Co-creare l’ecosistema: Educazione, Cultura e Industria nella comunicazione di domani. Collaborazioni efficaci e valore reciproco”, with institutional and cultural partners-including the Goethe-Institut, ADCI, Super Humans and the Accademia Tedesca - Villa Massimo. The programme will conclude with the Awards Ceremony for the best projects.
NABA presents “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest”: the yearbook
“Eco-Systema” will also be documented through a bilingual yearbook, renewed in its format and printed on Fedrigoni papers, offering an overview of the best projects from the past Academic Year and its key moments, including events, Area initiatives, collaborations with companies, and awards and recognitions received by students from the Milan and Rome campuses.
This yearbook inaugurates a new editorial format and represents, for NABA’s Communication and Graphic Design Area, the first attempt to convey in an organic and continuous way the quality and complexity of the work carried out throughout the year. It is not a simple collection of projects, but a tool for interpretation and memory, conceived to document a shared journey and, at the same time, to question the present through design.
NABA presents “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest”: the NABA Public Program
“Eco-Systema” opens the NABA Public Program, the calendar of initiatives open to the city that, for the second consecutive year, will animate the Academy’s campuses as well as numerous cultural and artistic venues across the two cities. Exhibitions, film programmes, talks, workshops, interdisciplinary projects and collaborations with institutional partners and organisations from the creative sector will be open to the city and its citizens, fostering a dialogue in which creativity becomes a tool for exchange, experimentation and transformation.
A structured, dynamic and cross-disciplinary programme that confirms the Academy’s role as an interlocutor and driving force of culture, research, creativity and design, capable of positioning itself with authority and continuity within the major events and cultural circuits of the territories in which it operates. Students from the Academy’s different Areas actively collaborate in the design and realisation of the programme’s events, together with lecturers, guests and institutional partners from the main reference industries.
NABA presents “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest”: the Milan events calendar
From Thursday 15 to Wednesday 21 January 2026
NABA Campus
Via C. Darwin 20, Milan
Admission by reservation at this link
Events:
15 January, Classroom G 0.4
5:30 PM NABA Communication Awards Ceremony
6:30 PM Exhibition opening
16 January, Classroom G 0.4
4:00 PM Talk Re-design democracy with Ruedi Baur, Giuseppe Mazza, Patrizia Moschella, Fabio Pelagalli, Susanna Cerri and Annalisa Gatto
17 January
Open Day
19 January, Classroom G 0.4
Talk Series Narrazioni visive del contemporaneo
4:00 PM Talk with Francesco Maria Tiribelli , Architect and Author |Creative Director, April™ | Co-Founder, 2050+, introduced by Roberto Maria Clemente
5:00 PM Talk The ecology of every day with Erik Kessels
6:00 PM Talk by Roberto Santillo
20 January, Classroom D 1.1
5:00 PM Presentation of the book “La triplice Copia, Teoria e critica della simulazione” by Alessandro Isidoro Re
6:00 PM Meeting with Vanna Vinci
21 January, Classroom D 1.2
3:00 PM Ricomprendere l’AI, presentation of the book “Nati cyborg. Cosa l’intelligenza artificiale generativa ci dice dell’essere umano” by Claudio Paolucci
with Giacomo Festi and Claudio Paolucci
In the Spazio Arena, the exhibition may be visited from 16 to 21 January, including during the Open Day on 17 January and excluding Sunday 18 January. Further information on opening hours is available at this link.
NABA presents “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest”: the Rome event
Thursday 22 January 2026
Opificio Romaeuropa
Via dei Magazzini Generali 20/A, Rome
From 5:00 PM: presentation of the projects shortlisted for the NABA Communication Awards, Round Table and Awards Ceremony
Free admission by reservation at this link.