ART FOR TOMORROW HEADS TO MILAN FOR 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Following the success of its Florence and Venice editions, Art for Tomorrow returns to Italy for the third consecutive year, this time in Milan. From May 12th to 14th, 2025, the conference will bring together inspirational speakers including Jeff Koons, Lord Norman Foster, Theaster Gates, Federica Fragapane and more, to explore how art, design and architecture can drive change and foster unity. The three-day event, which coincides with the opening of the Triennale Milano international exhibition, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year under the theme of Overcoming, Together. Aside from the conference, participants will be able to join a series of exclusive activities, including tailored visits to museums, galleries, performance spaces, and artist studios to see the arts in action.
‘We are delighted to organize this year’s edition in the Triennale, which will give all our guests the chance to visit the exhibition, and maybe reflect on some of our topics,’ says Achilles Tsaltas, President of the Democracy & Culture Foundation, the non-profit organization behind Art for Tomorrow.‘We are partnering with leading Milanese organizations and spaces to offer our guests tours (and surprises) of the MASSIMODECARLO Gallery, the HangarBicocca, Museo del Novecento, the Fondazione Prada, and Loris Cecchini’s studio – which I’m told is one of the most amazing artist studios.’
designboom is happy to announce that we are partnering with the 2025 Art for Tomorrow conference, bringing you interviews and news from the event — learn more about the program and register here, and use the code DESIGNBOOM to get a 20% discount.
Jeff Koons will hold a public lecture as part of Art for Tomorrow 2025 | all images courtesy of Art for Tomorrow
‘Overcoming, Together’ AT the MILANO Triennale in may 2025
The 2025 Art for Tomorrow conference is held at the historic Milano Triennale building under the theme of Overcoming, Together, exploring how creativity can address society’s most pressing challenges. Initially asked by the City of Milan and Deputy Mayor for Culture Tommaso Sacchi to connect MiArt (as part of Milano Art Week) and the Triennale International exhibition, with their respective themes being ‘among friends’ and ‘Inequalities,’ the AfT team saw a natural bridge between the two. ‘We believe that by coming together, anyone can achieve anything,’ Achilles Tsaltas tells designboom. ‘When you think of community-based practices, the healing process of art, and art as a catalyst for social development and creative economies there’s a lot there that can help our societies overcome social problems. It’s also very much in the DNA of our Foundation to explore the intersection of arts and democracy.’
Tapping into our shared humanity to learn about creative solutions to the most entrenched problems, the conference will highlight the transformative power of the arts to unite communities and inspire meaningful change through spotlight conversations, public lectures, panel discussions, lightning talks and more. ‘Panels I’m particularly looking for will dive into biodiversity where we’ll look at how artists are using tech to recreate lost worlds, or even create alternative futures where biodiversity thrives,’ Tsaltas notes. ‘We’ll also look at how designers are among the best equipped to show inequalities to the world. And with conflicts raging across the globe, we’re also creating a space to discuss how art can help cope in dark times, and how in some cases art can even flourish in war zones.’
Aside from the inspirational topics that will be explored by over 30 speakers, the three-day event also offers a great opportunity for its diverse audience to connect with each other, often leading to wonderful partnerships and collaborations. ‘We try our best to curate spaces for all guests to interact with one another, with speakers, and the different partner organizations,’ Tsaltas tells us. ‘What often comes up is a spur to action, in very different shapes or forms.’
Art For Tomorrow 2023 edition in Florence
AN INITIATIVE BY THE DEMOCRACY & CULTURE FOUNDATION
Now in its 10th edition, Art for Tomorrow is organized by the Democracy & Culture Foundation, a nonprofit whose Board Chair is Irina Bokova (former Director-General of UNESCO), while Ai Weiwei, Brunello Cucinelli, and Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani are amongst its Leadership Council. In previous years, the conference took place in Berlin, Doha and Athens, and now in Italy for a three-year period.
‘Originally Art for Tomorrow was convened by the New York Times and its commercial division,’ Achilles Tsaltas explains. ‘When the decision was taken to create a nonprofit structure – the Democracy & Culture Foundation – to organize the conference and lead other initiatives, we were really looking at making a wider impact. We do this today by bringing very different crowds together for three days, addressing difficult issues with leading voices. Art for Tomorrow is now a platform for all to join and explore what we call the social impacts of art, diving into sustainability, politics, the driving forces of arts and culture in different parts of the world.’ As part of its 10th anniversary celebrations, the 2025 edition of Art for Tomorrow is also hosting the very first prize giving ceremony of the Creativity for Social Change Award, launched for emerging artists working on social change by the Democracy & Culture Foundation and the Moleskine Foundation.
Achilles Tsaltas, President of the Democracy & Culture Foundation
Art for Tomorrow 2022 edition in Athens
Theaster Gates at his Chicago studio, 2024 | photo by Lyndon French, courtesy of Theaster Gates Studio
information designer Federica Fragapane will talk about ‘Visualizing Inequality’ at the 2025 Art for Tomorrow conference
Italian architect and designer Michele De Lucchi | photo by Giovanni Gastel
milan triennale (43)
Nov 07, 2024
Jul 24, 2024
May 23, 2024
Apr 19, 2024
Apr 02, 2025
Jan 21, 2025
Jan 16, 2025
Dec 18, 2024