Visual Arts

Time to vote!   Swipe through this gallery — and the next post— to explore a selection of works from “THE WITNESS”, the exhibition by NABA’s Visual Arts Area at Casa degli Artisti exploring how artists capture what’s going on right now, take in the chaos of the present and turn it into critical visual forms.   Which work actually stayed with you? Drop the title in the comments and vote now!  The work with the most votes across this post and the next will be exhibited at an important artistic institution in Milan.  So yes, your comment could help give one of these works its next big moment.  🎨 Scroll through the works in the gallery 
👇 Vote here in the comments  
👀 Make your choice count!

@naba presents “THE WITNESS - NABA Visual Arts Exhibition”, @visual_arts_naba in collaboration with @casadegliartisti_art , to be held in Milan from 13 to 17 May 2026 at Casa degli Artisti (Via Tommaso da Cazzaniga 89/A). Opening hours: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM Free admission with registration on Eventbrite “THE WITNESS”: the collateral events Wednesday 13 May 6:30 PM - Opening with performance Thursday 14 May 3:30 PM - Curatorial Forum: symposium with four working groups, with students from the MA in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies 6:30 PM - Lecture: by Steven Henry Madoff, School of Visual Arts - New York Friday 15 May 3:30 PM - Studio Visit: with collectors Marta Orsola Sironi and Mauro Mattei (FRENCH PLACE, Milan) Guided tours with students 6:30 PM - Video Screening: introduced by Yuri Ancarani Saturday 16 May 6:30 PM - Performance: by artists and faculty members Gaia De Megni and Marina Cavadini with students Sunday 17 May 11:30 AM - Closing Performance: finissage by Collective Artender

Lunedì 11 maggio alle ore 17.00, presso l’aula 0.01 del NABA Campus di Roma, si terrà l’incontro con Françoise Vergès in occasione della presentazione del volume Rendere pulito il mondo. Capitalismo razziale e lotta decoloniale (Ombre Corte, 2026), traduzione italiana di Making the World Clean: Wasted Lives, Wasted Environment, and Racial Capitalism (Goldsmiths Press, 2024). In dialogo con Caterina Iaquinta, l’incontro affronterà alcuni nodi centrali della ricerca di Vergès: il rapporto tra capitalismo razziale, ecologia e divisione globale del lavoro; la costruzione politica dell’igiene come dispositivo di classificazione ed esclusione; la relazione tra corpi razzializzati, spazio urbano e produzione dell’invisibilità. Françoise Vergès è politologa, attivista e teorica femminista decoloniale. L’incontro si terrà in lingua inglese. — On Monday, May 11th at 5:00 PM, in Room 0.01 at the NABA Rome Campus, Françoise Vergès will present her book Making the World Clean: Wasted Lives, Wasted Environment, and Racial Capitalism (Goldsmiths Press, 2024), recently translated into Italian as Rendere pulito il mondo. Capitalismo razziale e lotta decoloniale by Ombre Corte.In conversation with Caterina Iaquinta, the lecture will address some of the central issues in Vergès’ research: the relationship between racial capitalism, ecology, and the global division of labour; hygiene as a political dispositif of classification and exclusion; and the relation between racialized bodies, urban space, and the production of invisibility. Françoise Vergès is a political theorist, activist, and decolonial feminist scholar. The event will be held in English. @ombre_corte

Milan, 13–17 May 2026. NABA lands at Casa degli Artisti with “THE WITNESS” and it’s not just an exhibition, it’s a whole mindset! 👀  In a world where everything is constantly online, recorded, and consumed, what does it actually mean to witness something? This project flips the question, exploring how artists take in everything happening around them — political, social, cultural — and turning it into bold visual statements.  Featuring works by NABA students, Alumni and faculty, curated by the Visual Arts Area, “THE WITNESS” brings together different voices, perspectives and practices into one layered, ongoing conversation.   And it doesn’t stop there. Think performances, talks, screenings, studio visits: a full programme designed to go deeper and open things up!  Plus, don’t miss our students @vass.img and @luciacappellazzi ’s take on this year’s theme and how they interpreted it through their art.    🖼️ Step inside “THE WITNESS”  👉 Discover the full programme  🔗 Link in bio!

La mostra, realizzata in collaborazione con Casa degli Artisti, con il Patrocinio del Municipio 1, esplora il ruolo dell’artista contemporaneo come testimone delle sfide e delle complessità del presente e nasce da una visione progettuale condivisa e collaborativa tra le due realtà. THE WITNESS si terrà dal 13 al 17 maggio 2026 presso @casadegliartisti_art (Via Tommaso da Cazzaniga 89/A), tra i principali centri di residenza artistica internazionale, con il coinvolgimento di studenti e i docenti del Dipartimento di Arti Visive di NABA. La selezione dei progetti in mostra è curata da un comitato artistico d’eccellenza, composto da artisti, curatori, tutti docenti dell’Accademia, tra cui: @yuri_ancarani , #BeatriceCatanzaro, #ZashaColah, @francesco_jodice , @marcello_maloberti_studio , #simonamalvezzi, @ele_mazzi , @adrian_paci ,#andreasala , @giovannamuzzisilva , @patricktuttofuoco . THE WITNESS propone inoltre un palinsesto di eventi collaterali ospitati da Casa degli Artisti per tutta la durata della mostra. Scopri di più su www.naba.it

“Frantz Fanon: estrazione coloniale, violenza politica e rivoluzione” è il titolo del prossimo incontro del ciclo di lecture The Mind Is a Muscle (Dipartimento di Arti Visive, NABA Campus di Roma), a cura di Caterina Iaquinta. L’incontro, condotto da Miguel Mellino, propone una rilettura del pensiero di Frantz Fanon attraverso il legame tra vita, scrittura e impegno politico rivoluzionario. Colonialismo, violenza politica e rivoluzione saranno affrontati come nodi centrali di una riflessione ancora oggi capace di interrogare il presente. Miguel Mellino è Professore associato di Studi Postcoloniali e Relazioni Interetniche presso l’Università di Napoli “L’Orientale”. I suoi studi si concentrano su teoria postcoloniale, marxismo nero, migrazioni e razzismo. Giovedì 7 maggio, ore 17.00 Aula 0.01 – NABA, Roma — “Frantz Fanon: Colonial Extraction, Political Violence, and Revolution” is the title of the next appointment in The Mind Is a Muscle lecture series (Visual Arts Department, NABA Rome Campus), curated by Caterina Iaquinta. Led by Miguel Mellino, the talk reconsiders Frantz Fanon’s thought through the relationship between life, writing, and revolutionary political commitment. Colonialism, political violence, and revolution will be explored as central issues that continue to shape the present. Miguel Mellino is Associate Professor of Postcolonial Studies and Interethnic Relations at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”. His research focuses on postcolonial theory, Black Marxism, migration, and racism. Thursday, 7 May, 5:00 PM Room 0.01 – NABA, Rome

EARN International Curatorial Students Assembly Hosted by the PhD in Arts, Università Iuav di Venezia, May 9, 2026, 11am, Palazzo Badoer Calle de la Laca (San Polo), 2468, Venice 30125 Italy For the 61st Venice Biennale @labiennale , the EARN Curatorial Studies Workshop is pleased to announce that it will launch the groundbreaking International Curatorial Students Assembly, bringing together graduate curatorial students from numerous institutions to engage in shared learning, critical reflection, and professional exchange in a closed session. Led by members of the Workshop, this one-day conference will foster dialogue among its international participants, exploring the curatorial, political, and institutional dimensions of large-scale international exhibitions, with a specific critical focus on the current Venice Biennale’s exhibitions. The Assembly includes invited participants from @naba @visual_arts_naba ; the School of Visual Arts, New York; HDK-Valand Academy of Art and Design, University of Gothenburg; the Art Academy of Latvia, Riga; and the Doctoral School of Visual Arts, Universitatea Nationala de Arte “George Enescu,” Iași. The Assembly is hosted by the PhD in Arts, Università Iuav di Venezia and is one of a number of conferences and symposia that have been organized by Workshop members in the UK, Latvia, Romania, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Thailand, and the US, in recent years, with events forthcoming in South Africa and Zambia.

For the fourth year running, NABA x Yakult Italia are back with BacteriArt — a project where art and science come together and turn complex research into visual works. 🧠🎨  With “BacteriArt4, from invisible to visible”, students from the BA in Painting and Visual Arts and the MA in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies took on a real challenge: making visible the dialogue between gut and brain, translating microbiology into artworks.  This edition was all about the gut-brain axis, with students turning the way our body processes and stores memory, emotion and information into a series of bold projects developed throughout the year.  On 15 April, it all came together at BacteriArt Day at NABA Milan, with an exhibition of the students’ works and the announcement of the three winning projects 🏆:  - “BACTESS” by Ava Scout Mortimer Banfield  - “DIALOGHI” by Aurora Capuano  - “TIMBRO” by Rebeka Xhaxha   👉 Swipe through the gallery  👀 And dive into the making of!

Grazie per essere venuti al terzo appuntamento con Antonella Huber: Io, Mostro di NABA Reading Room settimana scorsa. Antonella Huber ci ha portato il suo ultimo libro, io, mostro. conforme/difforme misure di realtà nella pratica espositiva (Mimesis, 2024). Nel panorama contemporaneo, l’azione espositiva non è più intesa come una semplice disposizione tecnica di opere, ma come uno strumento critico. Huber indaga nel libro la mostra come un complesso nodo di forze in competizione, capace di smascherare e rivelare i “miti moderni” celati dietro le quinte delle nostre realtà costruite. NABA Reading Room è il programma organizzato dal Dipartimento di Arti Visive e curated by Yin Shuai che indaga la ’pubblicazione‘ come uno spazio espanso, riconnettendo il pensiero contemporaneo e la produzione artistica attraverso punti di vista critici. Naba Reading Room N3. Antonella Huber: Io, Mostro curated by Yin Shuai @carteryin505 in conversazione with Marco Scotini @marco_scotini Introduced by Andris Brinkmanis @andrisbrinkmanis2 organized by @visual_arts_naba @naba Department director @tattoguidotti special thanks to @albertonavilli @hotpotatoes.it photo by @ninazang_

NABA Reading Room N.3 Antonella Huber: Io, Mostro In conversation with Marco Scotini 23 April at 16:30 G0.4 @visual_arts_naba @naba Conversation will be in Italian Following our journey from the interior “territories of childhood” (Tiziana Villani) to the ecological and political landscapes of “Floating Gardens” (Ilona Németh), the third chapter of NABA Reading Room shifts its focus toward the act of showing itself and the medium of the exhibition. This session centers on Antonella Huber’s latest book, io, mostro. (Mimesis @edizioni.mimesis , 2024). In the contemporary landscape, the act of exhibiting is no longer a mere technical arrangement of works; instead, it functions as a critical tool. Huber investigates the exhibition as a complex node of competing forces, capable of unmasking and revealing the “modern myths” embedded within our constructed realities. This session features an in-depth conversation between Antonella Huber and Marco Scotini @marco_scotini (Artistic director of the NABA). Moving through a non-linear path of inquiry, this dialogue will transform the “reading room” into a space where exhibition practice serves as a vital measure of the contradictions and transformations of our time. NABA Reading Room reimagines the “publication” as an expanded exhibition space, reconnecting contemporary thought and artistic production through a critical discursive format curated by Yin Shuai @carteryin505 . special thanks to @andrisbrinkmanis2 @albertonavilli

Rome as a studio. The bee as a muse 🐝. This is what happens when NABA Roma and the École des Beaux-Arts de Nantes Saint-Nazaire get creative together!  In March 2026, the project “Swig, Jigg & Buzz” brought together students from NABA’s MA in Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies and Nantes’ “Faire Oeuvre” Master for a four-day international workshop exploring Rome through one of its most unexpected symbols: the bee.  From Virgil’s Georgics to Bernini’s Fontana delle Api, the city became a living archive. Students walked, collected and composed — producing works including honey-glazed receipts, paper mosaics, poetic texts and surrealist bas-reliefs.  The experience closed with a lecture by artist and filmmaker Théodora Barat, screening her film “Off Power” and presenting her project “Superform”.  👀 Want to see where it all led?  🖼️ Scroll through the gallery   ✨ Discover the students’ works

NABA CHATS torna per il secondo semestre (a.a. 2025–26) giovedì 16 aprile alle ore 18.00 presso il Campus di Roma (aula 0.01). “Tra scrittura e performance: Walking from Scores e Feminist Steps” con la ricercatrice e curatrice Elena Biserna, in dialogo con Caterina Iaquinta. Il talk esplorerà la partitura verbale e grafica come metodologia artistica di invito all’azione e all’esperienza, a partire da Walking from Scores: una collezione di partiture e istruzioni di artist* interdisciplinari (anni ’60–oggi) sulle relazioni tra cammino, ascolto e produzione sonora nello spazio urbano. L’intervento approfondirà inoltre l’evoluzione del progetto e del suo spin-off Feminist Steps in workshop, mostre e pubblicazioni, riflettendo sulla natura della “score” come elemento inseparabile tra scrittura e performance. Ingresso libero fino a esaurimento posti. Traduzione simultanea IT/EN. NABA CHATS returns for the second semester (A.Y. 2025–26) on Thursday, April 16 at 6 pm, at NABA Rome Campus (room 0.01). “Between Writing and Performance: Walking from Scores and Feminist Steps” features independent researcher and curator Elena Biserna in conversation with Caterina Iaquinta. The talk explores verbal and graphic score as artistic methodologies inviting action and experience, starting from Walking from Scores: a collection of scores and instructions by interdisciplinary artists (1960s–today) addressing walking, listening, and sound production in urban space. It will further examine the evolution of the project and its spin-off Feminist Steps into workshops, exhibitions, and publications, reflecting on the “score” as inseparable from both writing and performance. Open to the public (subject to availability). Simultaneous IT/EN translation.