Title: Narratives of Contemporary Brera

Type: Seminar
and Round-Table Discussion

Dates: 9th January 2026

Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano, Aula 10

Short description: The seminar aims to investigate the role of institutions in narrating contemporary art. Following an initial overview of the importance of pedagogical practices capable of fostering critical awareness of what is defined as art, the discussion will address the critical issues inherent in the different models adopted by museums and art academies to document and narrate artists’ works. Starting from the idea of the interview as a model through which artists can articulate their own research processes, the seminar will examine exemplary case studies and reflect on some of the challenges and limitations associated with this narrative practice within institutional contexts.

Academic Coordinator: Rosanna Ruscio (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano)

Speakers: Laura Cherubini (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Giacinto di Pietrantonio (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Maura Favero (MAXXI, Roma)

Participating Artists: Rebecca Agnes, Simone Berti, Ettore Favini, Bernhard Rüdiger, Anna Scalfi

Project Collaborators: Deborah Caivano (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Luca Esposito (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Oliwia Mucha (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano)

Promoting Institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano

LEARN MORE

Title: Curricula development for post-graduate courses | Working group meeting
 1 

Type: Working group

Dates: 19 dicembre 2025

Location: online



Short description: The working group focuses on the design of master’s and biennial programs within the AFAM reform, emphasizing the development of post-graduate curricula as a prerequisite for future artistic research PhD programs. The need to rethink master’s programs as intermediate steps within educational pathways is highlighted, in line with ANVUR evaluations and the European perspectives of Blended Intensive Programs. Particular attention is given to the strategic role of administrative staff in Erasmus processes and University Alliances, recognizing their centrality in operational continuity and the management of international procedures. The discussion underscores the importance of shared curricula, clear governance, and stable collaboration between faculty and administrative staff. An advanced draft of a Biennium in Spatial Design is also presented as an example of an international educational pathway that is coherent and functional for the transition to PhD programs, in a regulatory context still in development.

Academic coordinator: Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano)

Participants: Laura Barreca (Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania), Umberto Bellodi (Accademia Teatro alla Scala), Eva Frapiccini (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Monica Errico (Monica Errico), Fabio Iannotta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Nicoletta Leonardi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Gaetano Malandrino (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), Marcello Mazzetti (Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia), Beatrice Mezzogori (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Andrea Massimo Priori (Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia), Lorella Scacco (Università di Belle Arti di Catania), IartNET Ricerca

Title: Digital Communication for Music & Cultural Heritage

Type: Intensive free training course

Dates: 2nd – 19th December 2025

Location: Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’ Brescia / Online

Short description: The intensive course is designed as a specialised training programme to develop professional skills in cultural communication, focusing on the promotion and dissemination of musical and documentary heritage within artistic and academic institutions. The course combines theoretical lessons, practical exercises, and guided workshops covering press office practices, media relations, social media planning, brand identity, and digital storytelling techniques. Delivered in a blended format, with on-site teaching complemented by online sessions, the programme provides participants with the tools to design coherent and effective communication strategies for musical archives, research projects, and contemporary artistic initiatives, fostering interdisciplinary and integrated approaches to cultural heritage enhancement.

Lecturers: Valentina Anzani (OperaMeet Agency Team), Rosa Angela Alberga (OperaMeet Agency Team), Ilaria Benenati (OperaMeet Agency Team), Marica Chianura (OperaMeet Agency Team), Federica Scaramuzzi (OperaMeet Agency Team)

Academic Coordinator: Valentina Anzani (OperaMeet Agency), in collaboration with Marcello Mazzetti (Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’ Brescia) and Attilio Cantore (Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’ Brescia)

Promoting Institution: Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’ Brescia

LEARN MORE

Title: From STEM to STEAM: how cross-sectoral practices are framing new job opportunities for cultural and creative industries’ professionals


Type: International Seminar


Dates: 20th November 2025, h 2 p.m.

Location: Online



Short description: The seminar explores how cross-sector practices are creating new professional opportunities in the cultural and creative industries by connecting science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. With contributions from UNI Europa (EURO-MEI), Pearle (Live Performance Europe), Fondazione Centro Studi Doc, and the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, it addresses the transition from STEM to STEAM, highlighting how creativity and innovation drive sustainable growth and hybrid competences in contemporary cultural work.



Academic Coordinator: Umberto Bellodi
 (Accademia Teatro alla Scala, Milano)

Speakers: Anita Debaere (Pearle); Valentine Gelcys (UNI Media, Entertainment & Arts); Francesca Martinelli (Centro Studi Doc Foundation, Verona); Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano).

Promoting Institution: Accademia Teatro alla Scala, Milano


LEARN MORE 

Title: History of Art and Fine Arts Academies: Origins, Developments, Perspectives
Type: International Conference


Dates: 12th – 13th November 2025


Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, Pretoni Hall

Short description: The conference explores the emergence and development of art history teaching within Fine Arts Academies between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, examining the relationship between artistic practice, theoretical reflection, and art criticism. It brings together scholars to discuss the role of the Academies in shaping education and the evolution of artistic thought in Italy and across Europe. The event is sponsored by the Italian Association for the History of Art Criticism (SISCA) and will result in the publication of the proceedings in a special issue of Predella.



Academic Coordinators: Gerardo de Simone (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze) and Cristina Frulli
 (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze)

Speakers: Alexander Auf der Heyde (University of Palermo); Alessandro Botta (Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti di Torino); Alberto Giorgio Cassani (Accademia di Belle Arti di Ravenna); Gaia Bindi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze); Marco Ciampolini (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara); Giovanna Cassese (CNAM); Gerardo De Simone (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze); Eduardo De Maio (University of York); Francesco De Carolis (Accademia di Belle Arti di Sassari); Federica De Rosa (Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli); Cristina Frulli (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze); François-René Martin (École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris); Susanne Adina Meyer (University of Macerata); Nicoletta Leonardi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano); Francesca Lui (Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna); Giovanni Iovane (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze); Chiara Nenci (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
); W.J.T. Mitchell (University of Chicago); Paolo Pastres (Deputazione di Storia Patria per il Friuli); Greta Plaitano (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano); Susanna Ragionieri (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze); Rosa María Recio (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid); Edoardo Sala (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano); Enrico Sartoni (Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, Firenze); Roberto Sani (University of Macerata); Massimiliano Rossi (University of Salento and SISCA); Pietro Roccasecca (Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma); Emanuele Pellegrini (Scuola IMT Alti Studi Lucca).

Promoting Institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze / Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano


LEARN MORE

Title: The “Antegnati” Organ of Darfo: Research, Heritage, and Sound


Type: International conference / Concert


Dates: 11th November 2025


Location: Former Monastery Church of the Visitation, Darfo, Brescia



Short description: The Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ Brescia presents an international study day and concert dedicated to the historic “Antegnati” organ preserved in the former Monastery Church of the Visitation in Darfo. The event highlights recent organological studies confirming the instrument’s sixteenth-century origins in the renowned Antegnati workshop. The initiative combines scholarly presentations, guided tours to promote research, preservation, and renewed appreciation of the organ heritage of Valle Camonica. The day will conclude with an evening concert by organist Luca Scandali.

Academic Coordinator: Maurizio Isabella
 (organologist)

Panel Chair: Paolo Cavallo
 (Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’, Brescia
)

Speakers: Alberto Chiari, Daniele Dallapiccola, Maurizio Isabella, Matteo Lombardi, Silvio Sorrentino (independent musician/researcher); Paolo Peretti (musicologist); Luca Scandali (Conservatorio di Musica "G. Rossini", Pesaro); Marco Ruggeri (Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’, Brescia)

Concert programme: Organ concert by Luca Scandali on the historic “Antegnati” organ, featuring works by Girolamo Frescobaldi, Michelangelo Rossi, Henry Purcell, José Ximenez, Michael Praetorius, Bernardo Storace, Domenico Scarlatti, and an anonymous seventeenth-century composer.

Promoting Institution: Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’, Brescia

LEARN MORE

Title: Shadow Archives: Artistic Pedagogies and the Politics of the Copy in the Nineteenth Century


Type: Mobility/Dissemination

Dates: 6th November 2025


Location: Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen

Short description: Since 2022, the Folkwang University of the Arts has been hosting the lecture series Folkwang Photo Talks, a public programme that invites renowned scholars working in the interdisciplinary field of photo research to present and discuss their ongoing projects. Within this framework, Nicoletta Leonardi presents a lecture on the role of photographic teaching collections in nineteenth-century Italian art academies. The talk explores how these collections, once central but later marginalised, acted as a “shadow archive,” shaping students’ ways of seeing, reproducing, and classifying images. By tracing the circulation of photographs between classrooms, museums, and industries, the lecture highlights how the “copy” functioned as a productive tool that transmitted style, technique, and visual authority, while also reflecting the gendered and ideological frameworks of European visual culture.

Curator: Steffen Siegel (Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen)

Lecturer: Nicoletta Leonardi
 (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano
)

Promoting Institutions: Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen

LEARN MORE

Title Unfolding Paper: History, Materiality and Uses of Western Papers


Type Visiting Scholar / International Workshop

Dates: 21th – 24th October 2025


Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano 

Short description: A four-day intensive workshop providing researchers, students, curators, and conservators with a comprehensive study of Western paper as both material evidence and cultural artefact. Combining lectures, demonstrations, and direct analysis of historical samples, participants examine papermaking processes, diagnostic criteria, and artists’ selection and use of supports. Particular attention is given to comparative observation and interdisciplinary methods that connect technical study, conservation, and art-historical interpretation. 



Academic Coordinator: Maria Chiara Palandri
 (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano
)

Lecturer: Leila Sauvage 
(Independent Scholar)

Promoting Institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano


LEARN MORE 

Title: The Memory of Papers. 8 International Conference on Watermarks in Digital Collections

Type: Mobility/Dissemination

Dates: 19th – 21th June 2025

Location: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, University of Iceland, Reykjavik

Short description: The conference convenes scholars, paper historians, and conservators to examine contemporary methodologies in watermark research, integrating digital databases, AI-assisted detection, and case studies of historical manuscripts and printed works. Contributions focus on the material and technical properties of papers within the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
, investigating their role in reconstructing original sketchbooks, formats, and the circulation of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century archival, photographic, and administrative materials. Discussions situate paper as both a technological medium and a vector of historical, industrial, and epistemic knowledge, highlighting its significance for digital preservation and interdisciplinary research in art history and archival studies.

Speakers: Elisa Albano (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Gloria Boero  (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), and Maria Chiara Palandri (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano
)

Promoting Institutions: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, University of Iceland, Reykjavik / The Bernstein Consortium, Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna

LEARN MORE

Title: Phenomenologies of Archives


Type: International Seminar



Dates: 10th – 11th June 2025


Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano, Sala delle Adunanze

Short description: The seminar presents recent research in the field of visual arts and contemporary cultural production addressing the archive as a disciplinary, social, and political institution, as well as a critical and potentially emancipatory device. Starting from the premise that archives are not neutral containers of documents but active agents shaping individual and collective memory, the seminar explores artistic and theoretical approaches that reread the archive’s cultural, geopolitical, and socio-political status. Through case studies and artistic practices, it investigates the archive as a tool for rewriting history, engaging diverse media, and proposing innovative epistemological and linguistic perspectives.

Curators: Lucrezia Cippitelli (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Lorella Scacco (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano
) 
Panel Chairs: Ilaria Mariotti (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Angela Sanna (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Cecilia Guida (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Eva Frapiccini (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano) 
Speakers: Alexandra Gelis (Independent Artist and Researcher, Toronto), Alessandra Ferrini (Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Fine Arts, London), Barbara Garatti (Curator of Artists’ Archives and Adjunct Professor, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano), Duccio Dogheria (Head of 20th Century Historical Archives, MART, Trento & Rovereto), Linda Fregni Nagler (Artist, Accademia di Belle Arti di Bergamo / IULM, Milan), Maria Giovanna Mancini (Università degli Studi “Aldo Moro”, Bari), Siri Hermansen (Independent Artist and Researcher, Oslo), Sanna Kannisto (Independent Artist and Researcher, Helsinki)

Promoting Institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano



LEARN MORE

Title: Research Catalogue Project Portal


Type: Workshop

Dates: 19th March 2025, 14:30–16:30


Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano




Short description: As part of the international seminar Theories and practices of contemporary artistic research: a transdisciplinary approach, this workshop introduces participants to the Research Catalogue Project Portal, an open and collaborative platform for publishing and sharing artistic research. Johan A. Haarberg and Daniele Pozzi lead a hands-on session exploring the platform’s tools, structure, and possibilities for documentation, collaboration, and dissemination.

Curator: Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano
) 

Lecturers: Johan A. Haarberg (Society for Artistic Research - SAR), Daniele Pozzi (Independent Artist and Researcher)

Promoting Institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano


LEARN MORE

Title Theories and practices of contemporary artistic research: a transdisciplinary approach



Type International Seminar


Dates: 18th – 19th March 2025


Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano
, Salone Napoleonico

Short description: Following the establishment of doctoral programmes at Italian higher arts education institutions in 2024, the seminar addresses artistic research from a transdisciplinary perspective across different genres and media, encouraging exchange on ideas, methodologies, and approaches at an international level. Discussions encompass the temporal and technological conditions shaping contemporary art, including the influence of global information systems, automation, and artificial intelligence, as well as the intersections between humans, other living organisms, and machines. Key topics include the critical role of art institutions in cultural discourse, sustainability, and ethical design practices. The seminar further explores how collaborative platforms and innovative publishing tools can support the dissemination, validation, and recognition of artistic knowledge within academic and professional contexts, fostering new forms of epistemic engagement and intermedial experimentation.

Curator: Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano) 

Panel Chairs: Eva Frapiccini (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano
), Lorella Scacco (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera)

Speakers: Kristin Bergaust (Oslo Metropolitan University), Samuel Bianchini (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (EnsAD) / PSL Université Paris), Giovanna Cassese (CNAM), Elena Cologni (Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge), Fosbury Architecture (Design and Architecture Collective), Leonella Grasso Caprioli (Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’, Brescia), Johan A. Haarberg (SAR), Leevi Haapala (University of the Arts, Helsinki), Nicoletta Leonardi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Jacob Lund (Aarhus University), Rosita Mariani (Accademia Teatro alla Scala, Milano), Michele Mazzola (MUR), Daniele Pozzi (Independent Artist and Researcher), Antonio Somaini (Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris), Santiago Zabala (Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona), Akram Zaatari (Ecole nationale supérieure d'arts de Paris Cergy)

Promoting Institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano
LEARN MORE 

Title: Atelier Photo

Type: Mobility/Dissemination

Dates: 19th November 2024


Location: Institut national d’histoire de l’art, Paris (INHA)

Short description: This one-day seminar brings together curators, scholars, and archivists from leading European and US art libraries and research institutes to discuss the history, preservation, and digitisation of photographic collections. Presentations address case studies from major institutions, including the INHA, the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, the Bibliotheca Hertziana, Villa I Tatti, the Warburg Institute, the Frick Art Reference Library, and the Getty Research Institute. Nicoletta Leonardi presents a talk on the historical photographic collection of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, highlighting its pedagogical origins, its role in nineteenth-century artistic education, and its ongoing relevance to research and digital preservation initiatives.

Curators: Ilaria Andreoli (INHA, Paris), Louisa Torres (INHA, Paris)

Speakers: Bérengère de l’Épine (Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris), Louise Arizzoli et Marta Binazzi (Villa i Tatti - The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Firenze), Ilaria Andreoli (Kunsthistorisches Institut, Firenze), Christelle Chefneux (Kunsthistorisches Institut, Firenze), Costanza Caraffa (Kunsthistorisches Institut, Firenze), Jérôme Delatour (Getty Institute, Los Angeles), Isotta Poggi (Getty Institute, Los Angeles), Nicoletta Leonardi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), John McQuaid (Frick Art Research Library, New York), Kerry Pfister (Frick Art Research Library, New York), Johannes Röll (Biblioteca Hertziana, Roma) Tatjana Bartsch (Biblioteca Hertziana, Roma), Paul Taylor (Warburg Institute, London), Louisa Torres (INHA, Paris), Flora Triebel (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris). 

Promoting Institution: Institut national d’histoire de l’art, Paris (INHA)