Two Major Architecture Firms Aim to Revolutionize Rome Over the Next 25 Years

Due grandi studi di architettura puntano a rivoluzionare Roma nei prossimi 25 anni

A multidisciplinary team led by Italian architecture and urban planning firm IT'S and Dutch firm OMA has won the international ideas competition "Vision for Rome," promoted by the Fondazione Roma REgeneration. Their project, "Roma Continua," was presented at the Auditorium della Tecnica di Confindustria during the second ROMA REgeneration FORUM. The proposal aims to rethink Rome over the next 25 years through a paradigm shift in urban, social, and cultural planning, envisioning the city as a living ecosystem. It is based on five guiding principles—care, beauty, knowledge, movement, reuse, and grafting—and includes five green corridors anchored to the Tiber River, "Fori dell'innovazione" (innovation forums), and a continuous mobility network. The project also seeks to reduce tourist pressure on the historic center by creating new cultural itineraries and sustainable transport links.

The boundary between inner world and reality in Gak Yamada's photography on show in Friuli

Il confine tra mondo interiore e realtà nella fotografia di Gak Yamada in mostra in Friuli

Japanese artist Gak Yamada's exhibition 'Cosmic Prayer' is on view until June 14 at Die Gelbe Wand, a new exhibition space in Pordenone, Italy, which will be the Italian Capital of Culture in 2027. The show traces Yamada's shift from photography as representation to an experiential medium, featuring series such as 'HIGAN' (where urban landscapes dissolve), 'Red' (where chemical decomposition reveals dominant red tones), and the latest 'Flower of the Universe,' inspired by cosmic connectivity. Yamada, who once abandoned photography entirely to paint, immerses prints in water to alter their chemical stability, with Fujifilm papers dissolving quickly and Kodak papers slowly, producing varied chromatic and material effects.

The Language Beyond the Human in the Surprising Polish Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The Interview

Il linguaggio oltre l’umano nel sorprendente Padiglione Polonia alla Biennale di Venezia 2026. L’intervista

The Polish Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale presents "Liquid Tongues," a project by artists Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski, curated by Ewa Chomicka and Jolanta Woszczenko with the collective Choir in Motion. The installation eschews spectacle for a subtle, immersive exploration of language beyond the human voice, incorporating sign language, underwater immersion, choreography, and whale songs to destabilize conventional communication.

Roma insiste sulla rigenerazione urbana: Stefano Boeri trasforma un ex deposito di bus in oasi verde per uffici, commerci e cultura

Stefano Boeri Architetti has been commissioned to transform a former ATAC bus depot in Rome's Prati-Delle Vittorie district into a multifunctional hub called Depositi delle Vittorie. The project, owned by the family behind the Fondazione Memmo, will convert the 16,000-square-meter disused site into a mixed-use complex featuring commercial, cultural, and leisure spaces, along with a 8,000-square-meter rooftop park suspended 15 meters high that will host art installations. Construction is set to begin in late 2027 and conclude by 2030.

Torna TAILOR. Ecco come abbonarsi alla newsletter di Artribune sulla cultura del vestire

TAILOR, the vertical newsletter from Artribune exploring the intersections of art and fashion, returns on Sunday, May 17, 2026. The upcoming issue focuses on "Science Fashion," an event held from May 13 to 15 at the MACRO – Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma, curated by Dobrila Denegri, which investigates relationships between fashion, science, and new technologies. The newsletter also examines the rapid spread of the non-color white in fashion and design as a response to pandemic, crisis, and geopolitical tensions, offering analytical content for professionals, students, and enthusiasts.

A Roma il popolare quartiere Quadraro ospita un festival d’arte diffuso. Il programma

The IPER Festival delle periferie returns to Rome's Quadraro neighborhood for its fifth edition, titled "Super Lieux (Super luoghi) Periferie. Storie e geografie." Running until May 31, the festival features conferences, roundtables, study days, talks, exhibitions, and performances. A highlight is "Überlagerungen," a diffuse art review curated by Spazio Y that animates the Quadraro Vecchio district on May 16 with actions, installations, and shows from 4 PM to 11 PM. Participating venues include Spazio Kina, vineria Moggio, and osteria Grandma, with works by artists such as Lucia Bricco, Giulio Cassanelli, Felice Levini, and many others.

Tra workshop, studio e incontri. Ecco il nuovo programma formativo di Triennale Milano assieme al Qatar Museum

Triennale Milano, in collaboration with Qatar Museums, has launched a new educational program for recent graduates from Qatari universities. The initiative began with a selection call overseen by representatives of Design Doha, followed by a residency in Milan starting April 20. Five graduates—Reema Abu Hassan, Abdulrahman Al Muftah, Adriane de Souza, Maryam Hashim, and Meryem Omerspahic—participated in workshops, studio activities, and meetings during Milan Design Week. An open discussion about their experience will be held at Triennale on May 15 at 6 PM, featuring the participants and the bootcamp team.

Who is the new Minister of Culture in Hungary in the first post-Orbán government? The profile of Zoltán Tarr

Chi è il nuovo Ministro della Cultura in Ungheria nel primo governo post-Orbán? Il profilo di Zoltán Tarr

Zoltán Tarr è stato nominato Ministro delle Relazioni Sociali e della Cultura nel primo governo post-Orbán in Ungheria, guidato dal nuovo Primo Ministro Peter Magyar. Tarr, 52 anni, ex pastore della Chiesa riformata ungherese ed europarlamentare per il PPE, ha promesso di ripristinare la libertà d'espressione e smantellare il sistema di favoritismi politici nella cultura, dopo 16 anni di governo autoritario di Viktor Orbán.

Interview with the artist of the Danish Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale who staged the porn stars

Intervista all’artista del Padiglione Danese della Biennale di Venezia 2026 che ha messo in scena i porno divi

The Danish Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale presents "Things to Come," a project by artist Maja Malou Lyse (b. 1993, Denmark), curated by Chus Martínez. The installation combines a three-channel video developed with DIS, materials from Cryos (the world's largest sperm bank), and performers from the porn industry, embedding them within the pavilion's architecture to explore the convergence of pornography, biotechnology, desire, and visual culture as a single system of imaginary production.

IDF Soldiers Hide From Our Gaze

An opinion article on Hyperallergic analyzes official portraits of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers released in May 2025, in which the soldiers are depicted with their backs to the camera. The author argues that this pose is a deliberate tactic to avoid identification and potential prosecution for war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, weaponizing surveillance technologies against the very people they surveil. The piece frames these images as "counter-portraits" that transform individual soldiers into a faceless, intimidating mass, contrasting them with traditional portraiture that invites intimate moral scrutiny.

Interview with the curators who brought Italy to London Craft Week

Intervista alle curatrici che hanno portato l’Italia alla Craft Week di Londra

Amalia di Lanno and Valeria Zerbo, founders of the London-based curatorial platform Avant Craft, are bringing Italian ceramics to the London Craft Week for the first time. Their exhibition, "Contemporary Perspectives on Italian Ceramics," showcases a selection of independent Italian artists and designers who explore ceramics as a material investigation, sculptural experimentation, and cultural continuity. The show opens on May 14 with a "Meet a Master" event featuring artist Riccardo Monachesi, marking the official kickoff of Avant Craft.

A Roma un evento per indagare le relazioni tra scienza e moda. Intervista alla curatrice Dobrila Denegri

From May 13 to 15, 2026, the MACRO – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma will host "Science Fashion," an event curated by Dobrila Denegri that explores the intersections of fashion, science, and new technologies. The program brings together international researchers and practitioners in experimental fashion to discuss urgent issues such as climate emergency, energy, and interspecies coexistence. It is part of the broader multi-year initiative "Experiments in Fashion and Art," launched in 2024 with "Critical Fashion," and involves collaborations with NABA, Sapienza University of Rome, and UnitelmaSapienza.

How do art auctions change if everything online seems like a video game?

Come cambiano le aste d’arte se online tutto sembra un video game?

The article examines how digital infrastructure has transformed art auctions from exclusive in-person rituals into real-time competitive interfaces. Online sales, which peaked during the pandemic, now account for about 16% of the global art market in 2025 (down from 18% in 2024), according to the Art Market Report by Art Basel and UBS. Digital tools enable instant bidding, global streaming, and discreet participation, allowing collectors to compete without physical presence. The piece highlights the gamification of auctions, noting that ArtTactic has launched Art Forecaster, a platform where users predict auction prices in tournament-style competitions, blending market engagement with ludic elements.

A new cultural space that works on the memory of the city (also through postcards) has been born in Rome

A Roma è nato un nuovo spazio culturale che lavora sulla memoria della città (anche attraverso le cartoline)

A new cultural space called URBS has opened in Rome's Testaccio district, founded by architect Andrea D'Antrassi in collaboration with Giovanni Colombara. The space debuted in 2024 as "The Smallest Museum by URBS," a 20-square-meter venue housing over 1,600 historical postcards of the city, creating a visual archive spanning different eras. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions, such as the current show "Not Mine, Not Yours" by Iranian artist Mehrdad Shadrooh, curated by Barbara Blasi, which draws from a family video-photo archive covering over eighty years of history. A commercial space has also been opened in Trastevere.

In che modo la rigenerazione sta provando a cambiare l’Italia? Risponde la newsletter Render

Artribune's newsletter "Render" is set to release its 57th issue on May 11, featuring stories on urban regeneration projects across Italy. Highlights include a new library under construction in Latisana near the train station, a square-shaped island in the Venice lagoon transformed into an exhibition space after decades of abandonment, participatory tactical urbanism initiatives in Torre Annunziata funded by a Ministry of Social Policies and Labor grant, and a post-war complex in Rome poised to become a cultural hub. The issue will also profile the Peruvian architecture duo Barclay & Crousse ahead of their exhibition at the Politecnico di Milano and include a reflection on contemporary green spaces inspired by a visit to a private English park.

At the Venice Biennale there is a pavilion of shit! Luxembourg participates with a project that talks about poop

Alla Biennale di Venezia c’è un padiglione di merda! Il Lussemburgo partecipa con un progetto che fa parlare la cacca

The Luxembourg Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale features an installation titled "La Merde" by artist Aline Bouvy, centered on a cinematic manifesto that uses excrement as a metaphor to explore shame, social classification, and bodily discipline. The immersive environment includes a film, spatialized sound composition, and a steel-and-mirror architecture, with an anthropomorphic talking, walking, and farting excrement puppet interacting with visitors. The work also includes a sculptural alter ego titled "E.T. The Excremential," blending Bouvy's body with Spielberg's extraterrestrial figure.

A review of the 2026 Venice Biennale without naming a single artist

Una recensione della Biennale di Venezia 2026 senza nominare neppure un artista

This review of the 2026 Venice Biennale describes an exhibition that overcame dire circumstances—the death of curator Koyo Kouoh early in preparations, losses of key artists, and international political controversies—to deliver a surprisingly joyful and engaging show. Titled "In Minor Keys," the Biennale features a well-conceived, flowing presentation across the Giardini and Arsenale that prioritizes beauty, craftsmanship, and hope over a punitive or documentary tone.

Ministry of Culture inspectors present report on Biennale: Russia pavilion will remain closed

Gli ispettori del Ministero della Cultura in Biennale presentano relazione: il padiglione Russia resterà chiuso

Italian Ministry of Culture inspectors have submitted a report to the Prime Minister's office regarding Russia's participation in the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. The report concludes that Russia did not receive a formal invitation from the Biennale Foundation to participate, nor did it sign the participation agreement—a situation shared by other countries with permanent pavilions. While Russia submitted a project and appointed a commissioner, its pavilion will remain closed to the public due to EU sanctions, though a private vernissage may proceed. The report finds no serious violations that would cancel Russia's participation, but notes critical issues that warranted more caution. The international jury resigned en masse after announcing it would not consider countries whose leaders are accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, including Russia and Israel, and after an Israeli artist threatened a discrimination lawsuit.

In an exhibition in Naples it is possible to get lost without urgency in an unstable balance. The review

In una mostra a Napoli è possibile perdersi senza urgenza in un equilibrio instabile. La recensione

The exhibition "A Gentle Collapse," curated by Marta Ferrara at Andrea Nuovo Home Gallery in Naples, explores the contemporary psychic state through a spatial and perceptual construction. Featuring works in photography, painting, engraving, and installation, the show creates a sense of instability, with meaning emerging gradually through shifts between familiar and altered forms. Artists include Dorottya Vékony, Matteo Silverii, Flora Villaumié, and Zoë Pelikan, whose works engage with themes of genetic engineering, serial accumulation, and subtle disorientation across two gallery levels.

16th-Century Rome Through the Eyes of a Foreigner: The Exhibition

La Roma del Cinquecento vista con gli occhi di uno straniero. La mostra

Fabio De Chirico has been appointed as the new director of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome, with a mission to boost research, strengthen international dialogue, and enhance the institution's collections. His tenure opens with the exhibition "Maarten van Heemskerck e il fascino di Roma: percorsi visivi della Città Eterna," curated by Tatjana Bartsch, Rita Bernini, and Giorgio Marini, running until June 7, 2026. The show features drawings by the 16th-century Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck, on loan from the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, alongside over sixty works from the institute's own holdings—including prints, engravings, and archival photographs—plus loans from the Bibliotheca Hertziana, the Musei Capitolini, and the Istituto Archeologico Germanico di Roma.

Un nuovo centro culturale e residenza d’artista nasce in un’ex chiesa di Venezia

A 13th-century Gothic church in Venice's Cannaregio district, the former Chiesa dell'Abbazia della Misericordia, will reopen on May 5, 2026, as Etnia House of Arts. The project is promoted by Spanish eyewear brand Etnia Eyewear Culture and includes artist residencies, public events, and site-specific interventions. The restoration was led by architects Piero Vespignani and Alessia Semenzato of Studio Anfibio. The first two resident artists are Conxi Sane and Greta Pllana, who will explore themes of perception and vision, with the residency program using eyewear as a symbolic field to investigate identity and representation.

The new TAILOR newsletter is coming out: luxury crisis, new creative generations, and mental health (subscribe!)

Sta per uscire la nuova newsletter TAILOR tra crisi del lusso, nuove generazioni creative e salute mentale (abbonatevi!)

Artribune has launched a new edition of its newsletter TAILOR, which examines the transformation of the global fashion system amid a luxury crisis, the rise of new creative generations, and the growing structural importance of mental health in the industry. The newsletter features a focus on five emerging designers shifting fashion from product to narrative, an exclusive interview with influential stylist Tom Eerebout, and the debut in Italy of the project "One Person. One Voice" as part of the Mental Health in Fashion campaign, created by Florian Müller with artist Claudia Malecka.

The Dutch Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is a political protest (also against the Biennale itself)

Il padiglione dei Paesi Bassi alla Biennale di Venezia è una contestazione politica (anche della Biennale stessa)

The Dutch Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "The Fortress" by artist Dries Verhoeven and curator Rieke Vos, transforms the modernist Rietveld Pavilion into a fortress-like enclosure. Inside, a rotating group of thirteen international performers will stage a series of performances throughout the Biennale, focusing on themes of geopolitical uncertainty, social disorder, and the search for stability in an unbalanced world. This marks the first time the Netherlands has used the Rietveld Pavilion for a performance-based project.

Creating Variety in Contemporary Rome: The Story of the Conventicola degli Ultramoderni on Sky Arte

Fare varietà nella Roma contemporanea: la storia della Conventicola degli Ultramoderni su Sky Arte

On Sunday, May 3, Sky Arte will premiere the documentary "Ultramoderni," which chronicles the rise of the Conventicola degli Ultramoderni, a unique artistic collective in Rome. Founded by Sior Mirkaccio and Madame de Freitas, who met in 2011, the group operates from a small hidden venue in the San Lorenzo district, blending music, cabaret, burlesque, and contemporary variety shows with a retro-futuristic aesthetic. The documentary, filmed in their Roman space, features interviews with the duo and excerpts from their performances, tracing how they built a diverse community of enthusiasts around their reinvention of past traditions.

Art can officially be a form of therapy. Interview with Undersecretary of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, godmother of the project

L’arte può essere ufficialmente una forma di cura. Intervista al Sottosegretario alla Cultura Lucia Borgonzoni madrina del progetto

The Italian Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Health have signed a formal protocol recognizing art as a form of therapy and care. The agreement, championed by Undersecretary of State for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, mandates that museums, libraries, archives, and cultural institutions play a central role in developing therapeutic pathways using art to improve individual and community well-being. Borgonzoni, who has advocated for this initiative for nearly a decade, traces its origin to a 2018 study at the Sanctuary of Vicoforte that measured cortisol levels in visitors before and after viewing frescoes, showing significant stress reduction.

The first of May starts a new issue of Pax. Previews of the newsletter on cultural tourism (subscribe)

Il primo maggio parte una nuova uscita di Pax. Le anticipazioni della newsletter sul turismo culturale (abbonatevi)

The article previews the upcoming May 1st issue of Pax, a newsletter by Artribune focused on cultural tourism. It highlights a feature on Italy's colorful villages, explaining how bright colors historically aided sailors and fishermen, and how white facades served hygienic purposes. The issue also covers off-the-beaten-path destinations like Bolsena, which recently opened a contemporary art space in Palazzo Cozza Caposavi, and explores slow tourism practices such as barefooting, discussed with its founder Andrea Bianchi. Additional content includes a roundup of cultural initiatives from Berlin to Naples, Budapest's Citadella reopening, and the Sussex forest's Winnie-the-Pooh centenary.

Future cultural professionals in Africa will be trained by six Italian museums

I futuri professionisti della cultura in Africa saranno formati da sei musei italiani

The fourth edition of the International School of Cultural Heritage (Scuola Internazionale del Patrimonio Culturale) is underway, with 23 cultural professionals from 12 African nations participating in a hands-on training program hosted by six Italian museums. After online modules and a week of lectures in Rome, the residential phase runs from April 27 to May 22, 2025, placing participants at the Museo delle Civiltà (MUCIV), the Archaeological Parks of Praeneste and Gabii, the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto (MArTA), the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN), the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria (MArRC), and the National Archaeological Museum of Agro Falisco and Forte Sangallo in Civita Castellana. The program, titled "Managing Art Collections: from ancient to contemporary," focuses on collection management, conservation, and public programming, linking archaeological heritage with contemporary practices.

For the 2026 Venice Biennale, the RojoNegro duo brings a collective ritual to the Mexico Pavilion

Per la Biennale Arte 2026 il duo RojoNegro porta nel Padiglione del Messico un rituale collettivo

The article announces that the RojoNegro collective, formed by María Sosa and Noé Martínez, will represent Mexico at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with a project titled "Actos invisibles para sostener el universo." Curated by Jessica Berlanga Taylor, the installation combines organic materials, sound, video, and performance to create a ritualistic space that invokes invisible presences, memories, and energies. The work draws on decolonial perspectives, centering Indigenous and Afro-descendant cosmogonies as living knowledge systems, and aims to activate a dialogue between situated ritual practices and the global context of the Biennale.

Il duo di artisti internazionali Gawęda/Kulbokaitė sono a Roma per la prima volta con una mostra su identità e percezione

The international artist duo Dorota Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė present their debut exhibition in Rome, titled "Spit and Image," at the Basement gallery. The show, on view until July 10, 2026, features sculptures, installations, and videos that explore identity construction in the digital age, using mirrors, fragmented bodies, and olfactory elements. Works like "Yield (twinning)" (2025) and "Spit and Image 1 and 2" (2025) evoke surveillance, metamorphosis, and duplication, while the Slavic vampire figure of the upiór serves as a metaphor for fluid, non-binary identities.

Jaya Ganguly’s art on feminism, pain & resistance. Watch the video

Jaya Ganguly, one of India's most prominent contemporary feminist artists, is the subject of a video feature exploring her exhibition at CIMA in Kolkata. Curated by Rakhi Sarkar, the show presents Ganguly's deeply emotional and thought-provoking artworks that address themes of feminism, pain, and resistance. The exhibition runs until June 13.