Title: Towards a Doctoral Curriculum in Artistic Research
Type: Seminar

Dates: 19th-20th March, 2026 

Location: Palazzo Cybo Malaspina - Sala dei Marmi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara); Palazzo Binelli (Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Carrara) / Online

Short description: The seminar addresses the initiation of third-cycle studies in higher artistic and musical education from an organisational and functional perspective. It focuses on the definition of artistic research and its evaluation criteria, supported by data and practical examples, with the aim of establishing objective parameters for professionals in artistic and creative research. The seminar’s objective is to explore the tangible opportunities available across different European institutions, providing specific examples from which common elements can be derived to develop a standardised evaluation framework. The programme is structured with thematic sessions, discussion opportunities, and workshop activities, maintaining a balanced rhythm between formal presentations and collective discussions.

Speakers: Cinzia Monteverdi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), Marco Baudinelli (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), Nicoletta Leonardi (IartNET / Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera), Giovanna Cassese (CNAM), Dan Istrate (University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca), A. Capasso (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), M. Carrera (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), F. Cavallucci (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), M. D’Agostino (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), R. Rocchi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), A. Romanini (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), Enrico Isoppi (Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Carrara), Pilar Viviente (Miguel Hernández University of Elche), Raphael Vella (University of Malta), Magdalena Stanova (Academy of Fine Arts, Prague), Margarida Dias (Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto), Helena Marinho (University of Aveiro), Elena Cologni (Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University), Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera), Elvira Todaro (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara), Emily Doolittle (composer and researcher, zoomusicology), Alex South (musician and researcher, bioacoustics and human-animal relations), Dana Fabini (University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca)
Curator: Gaetano Malandrino (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara)

Academic coordinator: Carlo Sassetti (Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara)

Promoting institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, Conservatorio di Musica “Luca Marenzio”, Brescia

LEARN MORE

Title: Thinking Photography: New Strands in Photo Research 

Type: Workshop 

Dates: 16th-20th March, 2026 

Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan 

Short description: This doctoral workshop brings together three international scholars, Steffen Siegel, Kelley Wilder, and Martin Jürgens, as visiting researchers for an intensive programme of seminars, discussions, and collaborative working sessions. Conceived as a collective laboratory, Thinking Photography approaches photography as an intermedial and institutional phenomenon, whose histories emerge at the intersection of images, objects, technologies, archives, markets, and social practices. The aim is not only to present new case studies, but also to critically reflect on the epistemological frameworks through which the history of photography is currently written.

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

Visiting Scholar/Curator: Steffen Siegel (Folkwang University of the Arts), Kelley Wilder (De Montfort University, Leicester), Martin Jürgens (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, De Montfort University, Leicester)

Promoting institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

LEARN MORE
 

Title: Cross-Sector skills in the Cultural and Creative Industries: Technologies, Research Methodologies and Approaches to Digital Technology

Type: Cycle of International Lectures with Visiting Scholars

Dates: 13th February 2026 - 21st March 2026
Location: Sala Coro Grande Ansaldo / Ridotto delle Gallerie, Teatro alla Scala, Milan

Short description: The International Lectures with Visiting Scholars explore cross-sector skills in the cultural and creative industries, focusing on digital technologies, research methodologies, and artificial intelligence. Technological change over the past three decades has reshaped professional roles, production processes, and creative practices, expanding experimentation while also raising new challenges. European research highlights the importance of multidisciplinary, transferable competences that enable professionals to work across fields. The programme is organised into three clusters: emerging transformations in skills and professions; digital tools and cross-sector opportunities within the cultural domain; and case studies from the entertainment sector showing how new technologies are shaping hybrid roles and future career paths.
Academic Coordinator: Umberto Bellodi (Accademia Teatro alla Scala)

Visiting Scholar: Tanja Bastamow (Aalto University, Finland), Umberto Bellodi (Accademia Teatro alla Scala), Paolo Benanti (Theologian), Larry Busch (Akademie der OETHG, Wien), Eleni Danesi (independent artist/researcher), Franziska Ritter (Scenographer and Independent Researcher), Chris Van Goethem (Independent Researcher)
Promoting institution: Accademia Teatro alla Scala

LEARN MORE

Title: Reorganisation Methods for Museum Storage within the Framework of Collection Management

Type: Workshop

Dates: 2nd–6th February 2026 / 9th–13th March 2026

Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

Short description: The intensive training workshop focuses on the design and management of museum spaces, the reorganisation of collections, and the development of operational tools for professional practice. Aimed at a selected group of students from the School of Restoration and the School of Cultural Heritage, the program combines theoretical instruction and practical activities in preventive conservation and museum storage management. Based on the RE-ORG method, the workshop provides participants with transferable tools for storage reorganisation, space optimisation, documentation, and long-term collection management, strengthening the connection between academic training and professional practice in the museum field.

Curators: Giorgia Bonesso and Sonia Caliaro (Preventive Conservation Expert Consultants)

Academic coordinator: Serafina Pignotti (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan), Maria Chiara Palandri (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan)

Promoting institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera

LEARN MORE

Title: Code as Material: Creative Coding Foundations for Artistic and Design Practices

Type: Workshop / Open Lecture

Dates: 16th March - 20th March 2026 (Workshop); 18th March 2026, 12PM - 2PM (Open Lecture)

Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan / CIB - Centro Internazionale di Brera, Milan

Short description: The workshop offers an intensive programme in creative coding as an artistic and design practice, led by Lena Gieseke, Professor of Image-based Media Technologies at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf in Potsdam. It invites students to approach computation not merely as a technical tool, but as a material for thinking and creating. Through a combination of lectures, hands-on exercises, and discussions, participants will gain both conceptual and practical foundations for understanding code as language, process, and material, fostering a critical and experimental approach to programming in artistic and design contexts. The program concludes with an open lecture led by Lena Gieseke at Centro Internazionale di Brera (CIB).

Academic Coordinator: Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan)

Visiting Scholar: Lena Gieseke (Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Potsdam)

Promoting institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

Title:Thesaurus Musicarum Brixiensium

Type: Masterclass / Concert / International Study Programme

Dates: 16th–17th February; 22nd February; 23rd February, 2026
Location: Da Cemmo Hall, Conservatorio di Musica “Luca Marenzio”, Brescia; Duomo Vecchio (Rotonda), Brescia 
Short description: A cycle of activities dedicated to enhancing the musical heritage of Brescia through the interaction of historical research, training, and performance. The programme includes a masterclass on Renaissance musical sources, a concert at the Duomo Vecchio in Brescia featuring a historically informed performance of the Missa Papae Marcelli by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and an international afternoon of studies focused on the digitisation and study of local musical sources. The initiative is conceived as an interdisciplinary laboratory aimed at restoring Brescia’s central role in the history of musical production and circulation between the Renaissance and the early seventeenth century, combining scholarly rigour with a strong outreach dimension.
Academic Coordinator: Marcello Mazzetti (Conservatorio di Musica “L. Marenzio” di Brescia)
Curator: Isaac Alonso Molina (Royal Conservatoire The Hague / La Academia de Los Nocturnos).

Lecturer: Elisa Sala (Università degli Studi di Brescia - DICATAM), Mariella Sala (Archivio Musicale "Santa Cecilia" - Brescia), Emiliano Ricciardi (University of Massachusetts - Amherst), Livio Ticli (Conservatorio di Musica "A. Scontrino" di Trapani e Conservatorio "L. Marenzio" di Brescia).
Director: Livio Ticli (Palma Choralis · Early Music Ensemble) 

Promoting institution: Conservatorio di Musica “L. Marenzio” di Brescia

LEARN MORE

Title: Introduction to the Cataloguing of Printed Music Resources in SBN

Type: Masterclass

Dates:12th - 14th February 2026 

Location: Fondo Prezioso della Biblioteca, Brescia

Short description: The masterclass offers an introduction to the cataloguing of printed music within the Italian National Library Service (SBN), beginning with focused sessions on tools for musical bibliographic research and on the music collections of the Conservatory Library and the wider Brescia area. This will be followed by an analysis of the SBN OPAC and its structure. Drawing on examples of printed music sources preserved at the Conservatory Library, participants will be guided through the interpretation and creation of selected bibliographic records in SBN.

Academic coordinator: Nadia Masini (Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia), Laura Rinnovati (Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia), Mariella Sala (Luca Marenzio Conservatory of Music Library, Brescia), Sara Taglietti (Ufficio Ricerca Fondi Musicali, Milan).

Promoting institution: Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia

LEARN MORE

Title: WP4 Working Group Meeting
3 | Evaluation and Assessment of Artistic Research

Type: Online Meeting 

Dates: 12th February 2026, 11AM - 1PM

Location: Online



Short description: A meeting dedicated to the evaluation of artistic research, with particular focus on descriptive criteria and outcome indicators. The session is primarily informational and features two brief keynote presentations by leading agencies in the evaluation of artistic research and third-cycle education: EQ-Arts, “a sector-specific, not-for-profit foundation representing a wide range of disciplines within the broad remit of the creative and performing arts and design (CPAD)”; and MusiQuE, “a European organisation committed to improving the quality of music education worldwide through accreditation, quality enhancement, and advisory services.”

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

Speakers: John Butler (EQ-Arts), Linda Messas (MusiQuE), Jacques Moreau (MusiQuE), Anna Scott (University of the Arts The Hague)

Participants: Laura Barreca (Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania), Umberto Bellodi (Accademia Teatro alla Scala), Eva Frapiccini (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), 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 (Arteco)

Promoting institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

Title: WP4 Working Group Meeting
2 | Design and Planning of International Artistic Research PhD innovative programs

Type: Online Meeting 

Dates: 6th February 2026, 10AM - 12PM

Location: Online

Short description: The meeting is dedicated to the design and planning of innovative international doctoral programs in artistic research, in line with the Florence Principles on the Doctorate of the Arts (2016) and the Vienna Declaration on Artistic Research (2020). The session will open with a brief presentation of the doctoral project provisionally titled Artistic Research in Media Arts and Design, currently being developed for the Accademia di Brera by Professors Fabio Iannotta and Domenico Quaranta. The presentation will be followed by a request for feedback from the invited experts and members of the WP4 Scientific Committee, and will subsequently open up to discussion with the entire Working Group.

Academic Coordinators: Fabio Iannotta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan), Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan)

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 (Accademia Teatro alla Scala), 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 (Arteco)

Experts: Martina Corgnati (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Lucrezia Cippitelli (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan), Elena Cologni (Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University), Emanuele Quinz (Université Paris 8, EnsadLab), Federica Martini (HEAD Genève), Antonella Andriani (Accademia di Verona, Politecnico di Milano, Associazione per il Disegno Industriale - ADI), Irene Garofalo (ELIA).

Promoting institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

Title: Il Cantico de’ tre fanciulli (1774). Oratorio by Johann Adolf Hasse for soloists, choir, and orchestra. Italian premiere performed on period instruments

Type: Concert

Dates: 4th February 2026, 8PM, 5th February 2026, 8PM

Location: Santa Maria Assunta in Montecchio Church, Darfo Boario Terme and San Francesco d’Assisi Church, Brescia

Short description: As part of the 2025–26 Concert Season, the Marenzio Consort STU.D.I.O. and the Early Music Department of the Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia, under the direction of conductor Vittorio Ghielmi, one of the leading international specialists in early music, will present the Italian premiere of an oratorio by Johann Adolf Hasse for soloists, choir, and orchestra performed on period instruments. The performance brings together young professional musicians alongside internationally recognised performers, offering a rare opportunity to experience Hasse’s music in a historically-informed setting that faithfully reflects the sound world and practices of the eighteenth century.
Conductor: Vittorio Ghielmi (conductor, composer, viola da gamba player)
Performers: Marenzio Consort STU.D.I.O. (Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia), Dipartimento di Musica Antica (Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia)

Academic coordinator: Marcello Mazzetti (Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia)

Promoting institution: Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia

LEARN MORE

Title: Cataloguing Photography: Methods, Standards, and Research Perspectives

Type: Workshop

Dates: 26th–29th and 31st January 2026

Location: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

Short description: This intensive workshop focuses on the cataloguing of photographic heritage, addressing methods, descriptive standards, and research perspectives related to the management and enhancement of photographic archives. Through a combination of theoretical instruction and practical exercises, participants will engage with national and international cataloguing standards, develop skills in the critical analysis of photographic images, and gain experience in drafting descriptive records and presenting archival fonds and collections.

Curator: Maria Francesca Bonetti (SISF)

Academic coordinator: Nicoletta Leonardi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan)

Promoting institution: Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

LEARN MORE

Title: Project Funding Opportunities, Erasmus+ Mobility and Digitisation: Practical Tools for the Internationalisation of Higher Music Education Institutions

Type: International workshop

Dates: 29th – 31st January 2026

Location: Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’, Salone Pietro da Cemmo, Piazzetta Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli 1, Brescia

Short description: The initiative offers an intensive, practice-oriented programme on European funding opportunities and Erasmus+ mobility for higher music and arts education institutions. It provides an overview of key EU programmes – including Creative Europe, Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education, Jean Monnet Actions, and International Credit Mobility (KA171) – with practical examples from the music and arts sectors. A focus on University Alliances highlights the Innovative Universities in Music & Arts in Europe (IN.TUNE) project as a case study on governance, sustainability, and institutional impact. Special attention is given to Erasmus+ Mobility and digitalisation, with hands-on sessions on the European digital system for mobility management (EASY MO). Combining expert input and interactive work, the workshop strengthens the project management and administrative skills of staff supporting internationalisation and Erasmus+ activities.
Speakers/Lecturers: Anika Stiawa (KUG Graz, Austria), Iveri Kekenadze Gustafsson (Malmö Academy of Music, Sweden), Ivana Mijanovic (University of Belgrade, member of the IRC working group and IN.TUNE Alliance), Jose Luis Fernandez (EASY MO), Lucia di Cecca (EASY MO), Ly Tran (EASY MO), Michelangelo Galeati (Conservatorio Santa Cecilia, Rome), Noemi Parraghy (EASY MO), Ruth Graf-Fleet (EASY MO), Sara Primiterra (EASY MO), Krystian Werner (EASY MO)

Academic Coordinator: Marcello Mazzetti (Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia)
Promoting Institutions: AEC – European Association of Conservatorio ‘Luca Marenzio’ di Brescia

LEARN MORE

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: Narrative Perspectives for Contemporary Art. Brera and Its Living Protagonists: Self-portraits, Forms of Representation and Storytelling

Type: Mobility/Dissemination

Dates: 1st December 2025 

Location: Dry Media Studio, University House, University of Malta

Short description: The conference explores research in contemporary art through the practices of living artists, with particular attention to self-portraits, various forms of representation, and narrative strategies. It examines the relationship between artists and the cultural context in which they are trained and operate, considering the specificity of Brera as a historical institution and active educational center. A central reflection concerns the possibility of developing narrative models for contemporary artworks: in this regard, academic and cultural institutions, where visual arts are taught, play a key role in providing tools and frameworks capable of narrating contemporary art more faithfully and documenting the artists’ research processes.

Speakers: Rosanna Ruscio (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan), Luca Esposito (Independent researcher), Deborah Caivano (independent curator), Oliwia Mucha (Graduate Student).

Promoting institution: University of Malta / Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

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: 16th International Conference on Artistic Research

Type: Mobility/Dissemination

Dates: 7th–9th May 2025

Location: University of Porto, Portugal

Short description: The 16th International Conference on Artistic Research, organised by the Society for Artistic Research (SAR), is the largest international platform dedicated to practice-based research in the arts. The conference brings together artists, scholars, and policymakers to present exemplary artistic research projects and engage in critical debate on key issues shaping the field. The 2025 edition, centred on the theme of Resonance, highlighted artistic research as a transformative and connective practice, fostering critical reflection, dialogue, and cross-cultural understanding, while contributing to the imagination of sustainable futures.

Visiting participant: Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan), Fabio Iannotta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan)

Promoting institution: Research Institute in Art, Design and Society (i2ADS), University of Porto, Portugal / Society of Artistic Research (SAR)

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: Artificial Intelligence / Artistic Innovation

Type: Seminar

Date: 21st May, 2025
Location: Aula 10, Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan

Short description: Experiences, training, and opportunities in the field of artistic research through artificial intelligence are part of the educational project “Where AIs Dare: Theoretical and Practical Tools to Navigate AI,” curated by Alessandra Castellani and Fabio Iannotta. The initiative, promoted by the School of Communication and Art Education, the School of Artistic Design for Enterprises, and the School of New Art Technologies of the Brera Academy, aims to deepen the debate on emerging technologies and provide students with theoretical and practical tools to develop artistic projects supported by artificial intelligence.

Academic Coordinator: Fabio Iannotta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano),  Alessandra Castellani (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano).

Speakers: Antonella Andriani (Accademia di Belle Arti Statale di Verona), Alessandro Capozzo (Independent Artist), Francesco D’Isa (Independent Artist), Eloisa Gobbo (Independent Artist), Kamilia Kard (Independent Artist), Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Laura Tettamanzi (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano).
Promoting institution: Scuola di Comunicazione e Didattica dell’Arte, Scuola di Progettazione Artistica per l'Impresa e Scuola Nuove Tecnologie dell’Arte (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera)

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)