Author: Eleonora Angelini

On 6 November 2026, Gianna Angelini, AANT’s Scientific Director and Head of the International Office, spoke at the New Technologies and Ethics conference at Palazzo Valentini in Rome. Organised by the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in collaboration with AANT and other institutions, the conference opened with remarks from Metropolitan Councillor Alessia Pieretti. The discussion focused on the ethical implications of artificial intelligence for everyday life, relationships and learning.

In her talk, ‘The Responsibility to Imagine. Creativity, Education and Generative AI’, Angelini drew on research and teaching in art and design. When generative systems suggest images and stories in the early stages of a project, they can shape what designers see as possible. At this point, friction can play an ethical role in the creative process. Pausing to examine a suggestion, questioning its assumptions and reframing the original question are practical ways for designers to exercise judgement and take responsibility for their decisions.

Alessio Gallina, who teaches Theory of Perception and Psychology of Form at AANT, also spoke at the conference. His talk explored the cognitive and neurophysiological processes involved in conversations with generative AI, including how we come to attribute intentions to a conversational system.

These questions also inform the work of geniaLAB, AANT’s transdisciplinary research hub coordinated by Angelini. Its first annual forum, hosted by the Academy on 23 and 24 October, examined how art and design education can help students develop independent judgement when working with AI.

Rethinking architecture through redrawing, transforming the study of the masters into new opportunities for design experimentation. This is the central theme of AANT’s participation in the XIII ProArch Forum 2026, Composition. When an Idea Becomes a Wall, held in Florence on October 29–30, 2026.

The Rome-based Academy took part with a contribution by lecturer Angela Bruni, Redrawing as Design, published in the conference proceedings and featured in the accompanying exhibition. The event provided an important opportunity for national dialogue on architectural design. At the heart of Bruni’s reflection is redrawing as a tool for critical investigation and a creative process: not simply reproducing what already exists, but engaging in observation, analysis, and interpretation to transform the study of architecture into an opportunity to develop new design languages.

This approach shaped the educational experience involving AANT Interior Design students Ginevra Assogna, Ilaria De Angelis, Claudia Di Antonio, Aurora Di Franco, Giulia Fontana, and Seynabou Thiam, who were invited to engage with one of Franco Albini’s most significant exhibition designs, Room for a Man, created for the 6th Milan Triennale in 1936. Through an analysis of the original work’s compositional principles, the students developed new interpretations of space, experimenting with materials, colours, and surfaces while rethinking the relationship between existing elements and contemporary interventions. The process resulted in exhibition design projects that combine aesthetic research, material exploration, and technical solutions, progressing through to detailed design development and the integration of building systems.

For 48 hours, the Academy’s spaces in Rome became a hub for experimentation and game development, bringing together students, professionals and gaming enthusiasts. Two days and two nights of creativity, collaboration and exchange, during which participants, some even staying overnight at AANT, took on the challenge of turning a shared theme into a playable video game.

Supported by mentors, faculty members and external professionals, the teams developed 14 original video games, combining creative, technical and design skills. The projects were evaluated by both participants and an independent jury consisting of Cristina Nava, co-founder of Day 4 Night Studios and former Ubisoft producer; Lorenzo Ceccotti (LRNZ), comic book artist and visual artist; Diego Sacchetti, founder of Morbidware and creator of The Textorcist; Francesco Sapio, founder of Red Hog Studio; and Arcadia Café, a platform dedicated to video game commentary and criticism.

The Best Game Award went to a team made up entirely of first-year and early-stage AANT students, who stood out in a competition that also welcomed industry professionals. This achievement highlights the students’ talent and their ability to turn knowledge and skills into a tangible project through creativity, experimentation and teamwork.

The Rome-based Academy has renewed its commitment to ADDICTED, a format curated by Professor Alessandro Alfieri, philosopher, essayist, and scholar of aesthetics and audiovisual languages. The initiative focuses on the critical analysis of television series that have shaped the collective imagination and helped redefine the languages of contemporary visual culture.

Conceived as a space for viewing, discussion, and in-depth exploration, ADDICTED was created to offer students enrolled in the Academy’s degree programmes an opportunity to explore the world of television and post-television serial storytelling, through an approach that brings together aesthetics, narrative, and sociocultural transformations.

The new edition features four sessions dedicated to the pilot episodes of iconic television series, selected for their cultural significance and their ability to reflect different eras, genres, and sensibilities. Through screenings and scene-by-scene analysis, Professor Alfieri will guide students in exploring the creative and narrative choices that have contributed to the success of these productions, from directing and cinematography to set and costume design, character development, and the sociological implications of storytelling.

Here the schedule:

Tuesday, November 3 – Beverly Hills 90210 (1990)
Tuesday, November 10 – Dexter (2006)
Tuesday, November 17 – The Walking Dead (2010)
Tuesday, November 24 – Bridgerton (2020)

On 26 October, AANT welcomed its new first-year students with Welcome Day: the first step in a journey where curiosity, ideas and aspirations will meet new tools for creative expression.

Joining the Academy means learning to observe, ask questions, experiment and turn ideas into projects. It means developing your own perspective through exchange with others, discovering new possibilities and finding the courage to explore unexpected directions.

We hope our new students will embrace this journey with openness and commitment, finding joy in learning and creating together. The pleasure of discovery and the connections we build are part of how we grow.

Welcome to AANT: from today, your ideas will help shape our Academy.

On Saturday, October 17, AANT hosted the autumn Bachelor’s degree thesis defense session for the 2025/2026 academic year. The day was dedicated to creativity, research, and experimentation, featuring ten students from the Interior Design, Advertising, and Videomaking programs. The theses offered a wide range of creative and design perspectives, highlighting the dialogue between research, experimentation, and innovation. Together, these projects showcased the students’ ability to explore contemporary themes through different languages, methodologies, and individual approaches.

Here are the names of the graduates and the titles of their projects:

1. Eugenia Carlino: “La luce come materiale progettuale: il LED come dispositivo percettivo tra light art, light design, cinema e architettura”;
2. Giulia Romano: “Il grande Equipaggio: Un nuovo linguaggio digitale per l’orientamento dei giovani nella Marina Militare”;
3. Nicola Pasqui: “I vantaggi del front-loading tramite virtual production nello sviluppo di un’opera audiovisiva”; 
4. Tiziana Diana Advertising: “Ortigia: l’identità oltre l’immaginario”;
5. Caterina Lamberti: ”Synapsis – Connessioni invisibili”;
6. Sofia Troccoli: “Enfilade: il caso Filangeri D’Arianello”;
7. Melania Usai: “Tra memoria e oblio: trasmissione, perdita e conservazione del folklore sardo”;
8. Diletta Romei: “Punto Zero: la bottega contemporanea tra produzione, materia ed esposizione”;
9. Elisa Cretarolo: “CIRCUM. Soste lungo percorsi escursionistici”;
10. Andrea Cosenza: “Analisi e Redesign dell’interfaccia utente di Steam”. 

The Academy congratulates all its graduates and wishes them every success as they embark on their next professional challenges with curiosity, awareness, and a creative spirit.