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.
NABA presents a preview of the new 2026 Public Programme: April initiatives open to the city
During the Milano Art Week, on 13 April, the first artwork created for the project "Balneum – The Immersion" will be unveiled. Developed by NABA in collaboration with De Montel – Terme Milano, the project brings art into a space dedicated to the care of body and mind. Paintings, sculptures, video art and sound installations created by students from the BA in Painting and Visual Arts and the MA in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies of the Visual Arts Area will enter into dialogue with the thermal spaces, generating unexpected aesthetic encounters that will remain as an integral part of the venue's display — curated by the students themselves — to mark the first anniversary of the Terme's opening. From May to December, the collective exhibition presenting all the works created throughout the project will be on show at De Montel – Terme Milano.
Art and science converge during the Milano Art Week with the fourth edition of "BACTERIART – from invisible to visible", in partnership with Yakult. On 15 April at 6:00 PM, the NABA Milan campus at Via C. Darwin 20 opens its doors to the public (booking required via Eventbrite), with an exhibition presenting works by students from the BA in Painting and Visual Arts and the MA in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies of the Visual Arts Area, who explored and depicted the fascinating microworld of bacteria, rendering it visible through the visual arts. The 2026 edition explores the Gut–Brain Axis through installations and immersive environments developed with the contribution of international artists and curators including Remo Salvadori, Clara Hastrup, Jenna Sutela and Fiammetta Griccioli. The event will include the award ceremony for the winner of this edition.
The Academy will also take part in the Milano Design Week 2026, engaging with the urban context dedicated to design and architecture across a number of events, including the immersive installation "Extreme Environments", developed in collaboration with CIAL, the Consorzio Nazionale per il Riciclo degli Imballaggi in Alluminio and curated by the Design Area with the involvement of the Specialist Biennial in Creative Media Production. The installation invites reflection on how design can respond, adapt, and generate new visions in extreme contexts. It will be on view from 21 to 26 April as part of the exhibition MoscaPartners Variations 2026 at Palazzo Litta. Curated by Claudio Larcher, NABA Design Area Leader; Andrea Mancuso, designer and NABA lecturer; Michele Aquila, Course Leader of the Specialist Biennial in Creative Media Production; Luca Poncellini, Head of the Design and Applied Arts Department; and Sofia D'Andrea, Design Area Academic Assistant, with NABA students.
From 20 to 26 April, NABA is a partner of Archiproducts Milano, which presents its new Interior Design project for Milano Design Week 2026: "Fòco. Living notes by Studiopepe". The project is the work of Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto, founders and Creative Directors of Studiopepe. Students from the MA in Creative Media Production, supervised by Course Leader Michele Aquila and NABA lecturer Filippo Marta, will interpret the concept of "Fòco" at the Archiproducts Milano Showroom in Via Tortona 31. Video and sound will guide visitors through an immersive experience in the ListeningRoom, where the natural element is read as a transformative, kinetic force — one capable of altering perception and leaving traces on the eye and on image-capturing devices through phenomena such as retinal persistence, double exposure and image distortion. The experience will be enriched by live audiovisual performances. The installation will remain on permanent display throughout 2026.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Studioart Leather Interiors, students from the MAs of the Design Area interpret the Leatherwall product, creating innovative and sustainable patterns, including through the use of offcuts. The fifteen selected projects and the winning prototype will be on show from 20 to 26 April at Via Solferino 37.
During Design Week, at the Freitag Store Milano (Viale Pasubio, 8), visitors will be able to see "THE MESSENGER IS ON THE TABLE": ten design reinterpretations of the F11 LASSIE upcycled messenger bag, created by students from the Design and Fashion Design Areas, with a display curated by students from the MA in Interior Design at NABA, open until 9 May. On 23 April, a public evening dedicated to dialogue and design will take place, featuring a talk with NABA lecturers and a Holistic Product Designer from FREITAG.
Also on 23 April, at the flagship store of Fessura (Corso di Porta Ticinese, 22), Design Area students will take part in an event involving a live customisation session on a sneaker model designed by Karim Rashid.
Between April and May, the third edition of NABA CHATS continues with new Rome-based events dedicated to artistic research and contemporary visual languages. On 16 April, the session "Between Writing and Performance" will see curator Elena Biserna in conversation with Caterina Iaquinta, Course Leader of the Visual Arts Area courses at NABA's Rome campus. At the centre of the discussion: the project Walking from Scores, which explores walking and listening as artistic practices in urban space, examining how writing and notation can activate participation and physical presence. The series will conclude on 14 May with "Extraterrestri in gita (o l'imprevedibile virtù del caos)". Director of "Le città di Pianura", Francesco Sossai, and screenwriter Adriano Candiago will join Fabio Capalbo, Course Leader of the BA in Film and Animation at NABA's Rome campus, in a conversation about cinematic language and writing as a tool for constructing the contemporary imagination.
NABA presents a preview of the new 2026 Public Programme: May initiatives open to the city
The NABA Public Programme continues with the Rome edition of NABA Cinema Factory. On 7 May, at the Casa del Cinema, the closing event of the fifth edition of Z-PITCH will take place — the annual competition promoted by NABA and Fondazione Cinema per Roma, dedicated to young talent from Film and Media Design schools across Italy, with the aim of championing the training and creativity of the next generation in the audiovisual field. The programme then moves on to 21 May at Cinema Intrastevere, with the presentation and awards ceremony for the best audiovisual projects made by students, offering a valuable opportunity for visibility and dialogue with audiences and industry professionals. Also under the NABA Cinema Factory umbrella, from 26 to 31 May the Academy's Rome campus will once again take part in UnArchive Found Footage Fest, the international festival dedicated to the creative reuse of archival footage. Students will take part in the "Riuso di Classe" section, presenting found footage short films made specifically for the occasion in collaboration with AAMOD, and contributing — alongside the festival — to a Masterclass dedicated to the city.
During May 2026, the Academy will present a new edition of the NABA TALKS in Milan, as part of the Academy's Third Mission. The series, comprising four events, is curated by Simone Liscio (Short Programmes Course Leader), Fabrizia Bandi (Researcher in Aesthetics, Department of Historical Studies "Federico Chabod"), Roberto P. Malaspina (Research Fellow, Department of Philosophy "Piero Martinetti"), and Andrea Pinotti (Professor of Aesthetics, Department of Philosophy "Piero Martinetti"). The sessions will offer both a critical and a public-facing perspective on the transformations currently shaping creativity and artistic production in a context defined by rapid technological change. Speakers will include artists Yuri Ancarani and Diego Marcon, alongside theorists, researchers, curators, lecturers and journalists, among them Gloria Maria Cappelletti (Red Eye Magazine).
From 6 to 8 May, NABA invites the public to "In the Space Between": at the Careof spaces within the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan, the Academy presents a multimedia installation created by students from the MA in Creative Media Production as part of the second edition of the LIFE Theatre ArtsMedia Festival, promoted by ZONA K. Across three large screens, a sequence of projections unfolds around explorations of extreme, unconventional or threshold situations, practices, spaces and conditions capable of generating new creative approaches — from physical landscapes to digital ecosystems, from interior space to questions of identity. The exhibition will be enriched by the live performance of The Semi Dish Orchestra, taking place on 8 May at 7:00 PM. The project is curated by Guido Tattoni (NABA Dean), with Natalia Polvani and Arianna Puccio, NABA lecturers, and students from the MAs in Creative Media Production and Digital and Live Performance.
The exhibition "The Witness" — which investigates the role of the contemporary artist as witness to the complexity of the present, curated by the Visual Art Area in collaboration with Casa degli Artisti — will be hosted at the same international artist residency centre, at Via Tommaso da Cazzaniga 89/A. Running from 13 to 17 May, alongside the display of projects from the BA, the MA and the Masters programmes — on display designed by Matilde Cassani — the initiative includes a series of events with curatorial focuses and performative moments. The projects were selected by an outstanding artistic committee composed of artists and curators, all NABA lecturers: Yuri Ancarani, Beatrice Catanzaro, Zasha Colah, Francesco Jodice, Marcello Maloberti, Simona Malvezzi, Elena Mazzi, Adrian Paci, Andrea Sala, Giovanna Silva and Patrick Tuttofuoco.
On 20 May, to mark the opening of the 2026 edition of the Festival des Cabanes at Villa Medici, "Re-assembled Views" will be presented at the Académie de France à Rome – Villa Medici. The project was born from the collaboration between the Design Area at NABA's Rome campus and Villa Medici, grounded in principles of reuse and design research. It involves the creation of furnishing elements conceived by students from the BA in Design, using materials from the Cabane 7L by MBL Architects, which featured in the previous edition of the Festival. The shared decision with the Académie de France not to discard the structure but to reinterpret its modular elements gives rise to a series of objects designed for meditation, rest and sociality, to be installed within the villa's Renaissance garden. The 2026 edition of the Festival runs until 28 September.
As a partner of Open House Milano, on 22 May NABA will open the programme with two performances of the opera "Nel Paese delle Ombre" by Matteo Manzitti, with a libretto by Daniela Morelli, at the Centro Artistico Alik Cavaliere (Via E. de Amicis, 17). Under the musical direction of Pilar Bravo and directed by Fred Santambrogio, students from the BA in Set Design will create the set design under the guidance of Margherita Palli, scenographer and Set Design Advisor at the Academy, alongside lecturers Alessandro Pedretti, Marco Cristini and Matilde Casadei, with the involvement of the BA in Film and Animation for the video and sound elements.
The installations will also be accessible on 23 and 24 May to Open House Milano visitors, who will be able to revisit the work of Alik Cavaliere through the NABA students' projects. The opera, freely inspired by Haruki Murakami's "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", is developed in collaboration with the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado, with the involvement of vocal and instrumental students and the CEM choir.
NABA presents a preview of the new 2026 Public Programme: June and July initiatives open to the city
From 4 to 9 June 2026, during the Milano Film Fest, the Academy continues its engagement with the world of cinema as a Festival partner in the Academy section, with a programme of workshops and masterclasses, as well as screenings in the Scintille section.
On 10 June, the Communication and Graphic Design Area takes part in the Milano Green Week with the project "Design for Sustainable Innovation"; whilst on 12 and 13 June, as part of the exhibition "Il senso della neve" at the MUDEC – Museo delle Culture di Milano (Via Tortona, 27), Visual Arts Area students, guided by NABA lecturer Andrea Staid, will present their projects developed in response to the themes of the exhibition.
At the start of summer, the Fashion Design Area will present the NABA Fashion Show — the annual event that brings the best collections by students from the BA in Fashion Design at the Milan and Rome campuses to the runway, selected by a jury of journalists, industry professionals, companies and NABA Alumni. The concept for the 2026 edition, "Recipes", invites reflection on the creative process of fashion as a recipe, in which tradition and experimentation intertwine to give rise to new forms of expression. The NABA Fashion Show will take place on 24 June in Milan and on 2 July in Rome, where the Fashion Design Area will launch an original collaboration with the Department of Visual Arts through the GROUNDS project, using interdisciplinarity as a creative methodology. The project examines the tension between permanence and change, bringing together artistic practices and runway presentations that set historical sedimentation in dialogue with contemporary design.