ADI Design Museum presents an extensive free program for the Milanese summer.
From 21 June to 21 September, the museum becomes an open platform for contemporary culture, with a calendar of events and activities spanning design, art, music, cinema, performance, play and body practices.
PROGRAM
IL PENSIERO NON VA IN VACANZA
From 21 June to 21 September, summer gets into the museum.
Free events, every week.
JUNE
21.06 h 11 | YOGA CLASS
International Yoga Day
On the longest day of the year, a guided yoga session led by Lavinia Cometti in the museum spaces.
30.06 h 18 | CINEMA
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022) | Duration 122’
Winner of the Leone d'oro in Venice, Laura Poitras’ film tells the story of Nan Goldin and her campaign against the Sackler family, among the main perpetrators of the opioid crisis in the United States.
Talk with Denis Curti, curator and artistic director of Le Stanze della Fotografia, Venice.
CYCLE: Art and Power in collaboration with 3D Produzioni
JULY
01.07 h 15 | TALK
Gio Ponti Roundtable
An open afternoon discussion on the scientific framework and activities of the new Spazio Ponti. Architect, designer and editorial director, Gio Ponti profoundly shaped Milan and Italian design. Architectural historian Fulvio Irace presents his figure and legacy.
05.07 h 18 | MUSIC
Symphonic Concert
by Fondazione I Pomeriggi Musicali
Music: Cherubini, Symphony in D / Malipiero, Vivaldiana / Cherubini, Overture from Faniska. Conductor: Andreas Gies
06.07 h 18 | GAME
Football / game boards
A meeting dedicated to football board games, between boards, stickers and hand-written rules. A historical journey through the relationship between sport and domestic play. Reference games: Subbuteo and sports games.
CYCLE: The rediscovered archive. A pop-up museum of board games
curated by Spartaco Albertarelli and Stefano Mirti
07.07 h 18 | CINEMA
Ermitage. The Power of Art (2019) | Duration 87’
A documentary film by Michele Mally dedicated to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. With narration by Toni Servillo, the film explores the museum’s history, its collections and its link with the city, through art, literature, music and architecture. Talk with Didi Gnocchi and Angelo Lorenzo Crespi, Director of the Pinacoteca di Brera.
CYCLE: Art and Power in collaboration with 3D Produzioni
12.07 h 18 | MUSIC
Symphonic Concert
by Fondazione I Pomeriggi Musicali
Music: Mozart and Mendelssohn. Conductor: Alessandro Mazzocchetti
13.07 h 18 | GAME
Television / visual identity
A meeting inspired by television programmes and quiz shows, between pop culture and game shows. Reference game: Mike Bongiorno’s Bis.
CYCLE: The rediscovered archive. A pop-up museum of board games
curated by Spartaco Albertarelli and Stefano Mirti
14.07 h 18 | CINEMA
The Prado Museum. The Court of Wonders (2019) | Duration 92’
A documentary directed by Valeria Parisi on the Madrid museum through its collections, storage rooms and restoration workshops. An immersive journey through over 8,000 works, narrated by Jeremy Irons. Talk with Didi Gnocchi and Alessandra Quarto, Director of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum.
CYCLE: Art and Power in collaboration with 3D Produzioni
19.07 h 18 | MUSIC
Symphonic Concert
by Fondazione I Pomeriggi Musicali
Music: Haydn and Schubert. Conductor: Roberta Peroni
20.07 h 18 | GAME
Major licences / packaging
A meeting on the relationship between brands, characters and board game packaging. Reference game: the Star Wars game.
CYCLE: The rediscovered archive. A pop-up museum of board games
curated by Spartaco Albertarelli and Stefano Mirti
21.07 h 18 | CINEMA
The Great Fear of Hitler. Trial of Degenerate Art (2025) | Duration 100’
A new documentary film directed by Simona Risi exploring Nazi Germany’s war against modern art. Talk with Didi Gnocchi and Demetrio Paparoni, art critic and essayist.
CYCLE: Art and Power in collaboration with 3D Produzioni
23.07 h 18 | MEETING
Book presentation: Avventurevolissimevolmente
Life notes travelling around the world
by Luca Moretti and Lucia Oliva
The journey of a couple of cultural promoters who have travelled the world spreading art and intercultural dialogue, sharing behind-the-scenes insights into their life and career.
27.07 h 18 | GAME
Prototypes / the design process
An in-depth exploration of the board game design process. Reference game: Alex Randolph’s prototypes.
CYCLE: The rediscovered archive. A pop-up museum of board games
curated by Spartaco Albertarelli and Stefano Mirti
28.07 h 18 | CINEMA
Hitler vs Picasso and Others. The Nazi Obsession with Art (2018) | Duration 96’
A documentary directed by Claudio Poli focusing on the systematic looting of masterpieces and the censorship of “degenerate art” by the Nazi regime.
Talk with Didi Gnocchi and Chiara Spangaro, Secretary General of the Fondazione Aldo Rossi.
CYCLE: Art and Power in collaboration with 3D Produzioni
SEPTEMBER
03.09 h 18 | EXHIBITION
Carlo Forcolini: Untitled – Life
curated by Luciano Galimberti
The first exhibition on Carlo Forcolini at ADI Design Museum: the story of the intertwining between life and design as an art form of our time.
07.09 h 11 | EXHIBITION
Dolly Carousel
curated by Umberto Croppi
An installation by Fariba Ferdosi reinterpreting the carousel through reference to Chovgan, an ancient Persian equestrian game. Populated by the artist’s iconic armed sheep, the work reflects with irony on play, violence, conformity and collective identity. The title references Dolly, the first cloned mammal, opening a reflection on identity and repetition.
08.09 h 19 | PERFORMANCE
DANAE FESTIVAL — 28th Edition
Good vibes only (Beta test) by Francesca Santamaria
An exploration of scrolling as an everyday, endless gesture, transformed into an ironic choreography in which the body becomes a mirror of today’s digital flow.
Curated by Teatro delle Moire
Admission €3
09.09 h 19 | PERFORMANCE
DANAE FESTIVAL — 28th Edition
AeReA by Panzetti/Ticconi
A hypnotic and radical performance in which flags become pure visual and symbolic form. Followed by a talk with Chiara Alessi.
Curated by Teatro delle Moire
Admission €3
10.09 h 19 | PERFORMANCE
DANAE FESTIVAL — 28th Edition
Falena by Elisa Sbaragli
A poetic journey into the instability of desire, featuring acclaimed dancer Alice Raffaelli, where movement becomes impulse, metamorphosis and a fragile yet tenacious presence.
Curated by Teatro delle Moire
Admission €3
14.09 h 10.30–13.30 | 14.30–17.30 | WORKSHOP
THE USELESS SCHOOL – FIRST EDITION
curated by Mario Trimarchi and Stefano Mirti
A series of workshops to rediscover practices of thought and design as gestures of poetic resistance.
Session – #1 Conversation with philosophers, language scholars, designers, artists and photographers.
14.09 h 18 | EXHIBITION
Have you ever noticed?
curated by Michele Tranquillini
The exhibition brings together historical sketches and new drawings dedicated to Tokyo and today’s Milan, with a participatory section on the moods evoked by these “fragments of city”.
15.09 h 10.30–13.30 | 14.30–17.30 | WORKSHOP
THE USELESS SCHOOL – FIRST EDITION
curated by Mario Trimarchi and Stefano Mirti
A series of workshops to rediscover practices of thought and design as gestures of poetic resistance.
Session – #2 Hand drawing as an inner discipline
15.09 h 18 | CINEMA
Cutting Through Rocks (2025) | Duration 95’
The acclaimed documentary by Sarah Khaki and Mohammad Reza Eyni tells the story of a woman driving social change and women’s rights in a rural Iranian context. Nominated for the 2026 Oscars.
Talk with Shervin Haravi — Italian-Iranian human rights activist.
CYCLE: Women and Freedom in collaboration with 3D Produzioni
16.09 h 10.30–13.30 | 14.30–17.30 | WORKSHOP
THE USELESS SCHOOL – FIRST EDITION
curated by Mario Trimarchi and Stefano Mirti
A series of workshops to rediscover practices of thought and design as gestures of poetic resistance.
Session – #3 Photography as identification
17.09 h 10.30–13.30 | 14.30–17.30 | WORKSHOP
THE USELESS SCHOOL – FIRST EDITION
curated by Mario Trimarchi and Stefano Mirti
A series of workshops to rediscover practices of thought and design as gestures of poetic resistance.
Session – #4 The Italian language and the narration of reality
21.09 h 18 | CINEMA
The Last Ambassador (2025) | Duration 77’
A documentary by Natalie Halla on Manizha Bakhtari, Afghanistan’s last female ambassador after the fall of Kabul, navigating political limbo, women’s rights and clandestine education.
Talk with Silvia Boccardi — journalist and author for Chora Media
CYCLE: Women and Freedom in collaboration with 3D Produzioni
22.09 h 18 | GAME
War games / cartographies
An evening dedicated to war games, from Risk to historical wargames, exploring maps, borders and territories as tools of power and historical representation. In collaboration with Spin Master.
Reference game: Risk
CYCLE: The rediscovered archive. A pop-up museum of board games
curated by Spartaco Albertarelli and Stefano Mirti
