NABA presents a preview of the new 2026 Public Programme, a city-facing calendar of initiatives that, from January onwards, will bring the Academy’s Milan and Rome campuses to life, alongside numerous cultural and artistic venues of national and international standing.
Exhibitions, film series, talks, workshops, fashion shows, interdisciplinary projects and collaborations with institutional partners and organisations from the creative world make up a structured, dynamic and cross-disciplinary programme that reinforces the Academy’s role as a key point of reference and a driver of culture, creativity and design, with a consistent and authoritative presence across the main cultural circuits and events in the territories where it operates.
Students from the Academy’s different Areas actively contribute to the planning and delivery of the events, working alongside faculty, guests and institutional partners from their respective fields. This approach turns each initiative into a true research lab.
NABA presents a preview of the new 2026 Public Programme: January initiatives open to the city
The NABA Public Programme launches from 15 to 21 January 2026 with “Eco-Systema - NABA Communication Fest”. The NABA Milan Campus will host a selection of student projects from the Communication and Graphic Design Area, presented through a display inspired by the idea of an archive and bringing together prints and videos. The exhibition will also be open during the Open Day on 17 January.
During the festival, with Fedrigoni taking part as a partner, a series of in-depth sessions will explore the areas covered by the programme - from publishing to photography - featuring guests including designer Ruedi Baur; artist, curator and communication designer Erik Kessels; Roberto Santillo, Creative Director, Global Publishing, The Walt Disney Company Italia; and comic artist and illustrator Vanna Vinci. The festival then moves to the capital on 22 January, when Opificio Romaeuropa will host an exhibition, the awards ceremony for the best student projects from the Rome campus, and a round table with institutional and cultural partners.
In January, the programme continues with “NABA - Percorsi d’Autore”, the film series now in its third edition, developed in collaboration with Anteo Palazzo del Cinema and under the artistic direction of Dario Zonta (NABA faculty member, journalist and film producer). The series is conceived as a space for exchange between teaching and film practice, offering students from the BAs in Film and Animation, Creative Technologies and Set Design a concrete opportunity to engage with filmmakers and the creative processes of contemporary cinema.
As part of the series, “Orfeo” by Virgilio Villoresi will be screened on 19 January at 7:30 PM, with the director attending in person (ticketed entry here). The Bertani sisters will join the closing event of the series on 9 February for the preview screening of their movie “Le Bambine”. The series also includes a live radio broadcast on Hollywood Party Factory on Rai Radio 3, the initiative’s Media Partner, during which NABA students interview the directors ahead of the in-theatre screening.
The 4 Turandot (T4T), a project supported by Italy’s PNRR and led by the Milan Conservatory in collaboration with NABA and several academic and cultural institutions, was created to enhance and promote Puccini’s musical heritage through a re-staging of Turandot, marking 100 years since its first performance. The project, to be presented in late January, involves students from the Fashion Design Area at the Academy’s Milan campus in the creation of stage costumes for the opera’s main characters, for four performances scheduled in Italy, China, South Korea and the United States.
Costume production was guided by costume designer, set designer and NABA lecturer Gianluca Sbicca, starting from the original costume drawings and sketches held in the Archivio Storico Ricordi and developing them into new costumes with a contemporary yet timeless language. In addition, students from NABA’s Design Area will produce virtual renders of the costumes and create selected set elements using 3D printing. The Milan performances of Turandot will take place on 27 and 28 February in the Sala Verdi at the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi in Milan.
NABA presents a preview of the new 2026 Public Programme: February and March initiatives open to the city
New technologies and cinema will be at the heart of Story First, an event dedicated to serial and audiovisual writing, developed within the Academic Master in Screenwriting for Series. The initiative features two events, on 13 February and 6 March, at NABA’s Rome campus, in collaboration with Fabrique du Cinema at The Cineclub, and will also be enriched by a programme of workshops on topics such as copyright, creative education and the new frontiers of storytelling.
On the occasion of Book Pride, the independent fair dedicated to publishers, authors and book lovers, taking place at Superstudio Maxi in Milan from 20 to 22 March 2026, the Academy will take part with the talk “DOLO / Drawing Out Loud”, dedicated to the Bookazine of the same name. The publication, a project by Alberto Bettinetti and Marco Bongiorni (NABA lecturers), explores contemporary artistic drawing as a generative practice and the starting point of visual thinking.
The Academy’s Media Design and New Technologies Area and NABA students will also be featured in NABA Cinema Factory, the event showcasing the best student-made cinematic audiovisual projects. The Milan edition will take place at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema and will include a masterclass with director Matteo Garrone on 25 March. The Rome edition of the event will be held on 21 May at Cinema Intrastevere.
The full 2026 Public Programme will be shared soon, with all initiatives scheduled for the months that follow.