The Triennale’s Future. Here is the project from the new director, Trione. De Lucchi is also joining. Arts and knowledge

Just one month after the election, the Triennale’s new governing body already has a programme in place for the next four years. The task was by no means straightforward; after all, they had to take into account Boeri’s legacy, the challenges of a rapidly changing world, and the fact that the institution on Via Alemagna is a “one-of-a-kind” entity – as the new president, Vincenzo Trione, stated when outlining the programme – where exhibitions, displays, performances, theatre, music and live shows all converge. All the arts pass through here; the ambition is to connect them, or better still, to blend them together. This objective will be achieved by developing a programme of events, which will be punctuated each year by a public programme comprising thematic and monographic exhibitions on leading figures in art, architecture, design and fashion, all linked to the theme developed over the 12-month period. To raise its profile, an introductory installation will be placed inside the venue. In parallel, the ‘Work in Progress’ series is planned to build towards the 25th International Exhibition, to be held in 2028, which will bring together the worlds of the arts, cinema and literature. 

One aspect Trione emphasised is the union of art and knowledge, two disciplines that intersect and complement one another. This idea lies at the heart of the new research centre, founded in 1935 by Giuseppe Pagano, which will work with an Advisory Board comprising a diverse range of figures such as the writer Melania Mazzucco, the geographer Franco Farinelli, the sociologist Nathalie Heinich, the physicist Carlo Rovelli, the theologian and philosopher Father Benanti, and the essayist Giuliano da Empoli. In the same spirit, plans are in place to revamp the archive and give a new impetus to publishing, with three series for catalogues, books and albums, the magazine “Lotus” and two new initiatives: on the one hand, collaboration with universities and research centres, which will give rise to the Triennale PhD Programme for new doctoral degrees and fellowship programmes for scholars, promoted through international calls for applications; and on the other, a Board of Trustees, modelled on those of international museums, with a role in supporting strategic development. 

The key figure for this new season is Michele De Lucchi: his first involvement with the Triennale dates back to 1973, when he presented himself as a dissident; today he returns to take up the post of “creative director”, created especially for him. He will be tasked with revitalising the Museum of Italian Design and will lead a new scientific committee comprising, alongside architecture curator Manuela Lucà-Dazio and contemporary art curator Andrea Viliani, a number of consultants including Paolo Mereghetti for cinema, Carlo Antonelli for music and Luca Stoppini for fashion. This confirms that Trione’s vision is to make the Triennale a crossroads where the oldest arts meet the most modern fields of knowledge, such as artificial intelligence, which will be introduced by Father Benanti, one of Italy’s leading experts in the field.