AANT Graduation Sessions: Designing the Present, Imagining the Future

On February 27 and 28, AANT hosted the latest Bachelor’s Degree Graduation Sessions, two days dedicated to research, experimentation, and contemporary design project development. The theses presented explored a wide range of languages and disciplines, from film directing to interior design, from art direction to graphic design, from photography to urban planning, offering a contemporary and conscious perspective on the cultural, social, and technological transformations of our time.

Below are the names of the graduates and the titles of their final projects:

Elena Fierro — “MERCATO + Spazio di scambio, luogo di comunità”

Juan Carlos Cortopassi — “La regia attraverso il piano sequenza”

Lorenzo Paul Di Pastena — “Casa Mea”

Adriano Rosati — “Sul Fotoreportage”

Giulia Caiola — “Il colore della voce: l’arte murale a Roma dagli anni 2000 ad oggi”

Chiara Casolini — “La grammatica dell’abitare: il cinema come enciclopedia dello spazio domestico”

Sofia Fiore — “The Animated Uncanny: Horror Cinema as a Language of Contemporary Fears”

Alice Barbato — “Dal progetto allo schermo: ricerca teorica sulla pellicola nel cinema contemporaneo e realizzazione di un cortometraggio”

Jamila Orel — “La seconda vita delle storie. Il viaggio dell’adattamento cinematografico”

Gabriele Mottola — “IUMI: anatomia di una visione”

Sara Massucci — “Che cos’è la bellezza? Un’indagine tra pregiudizio ed emozioni nell’era dell’intelligenza artificiale”

Romina Emanuela Moisei — “Dolore Creativo. Il dolore come strumento creativo e comunicativo nell’art direction contemporanea”

Sofia Teresa Bucarelli — “Sottopasso. Un nuovo ecosistema digitale per l’accesso alla scena musicale emergente”

Luna Nicaise — “Swaply. Swap Skills. Meet People.”

Chiara Vessicchio — “Latrinalia: lo scarico sociale”

Francesca Ferrara — “Roovi: la tua guida agile nella giungla urbana”

Francesco Nava Mambretti — “BAND Identity: storydoing digitale e branding per una release musicale”

Luca Piccirilli — “Co-omprendi: progettazione di una piattaforma a supporto della diagnosi precoce dei DSA”

Ramona Munteanu — “LUMEA. Un mondo che si illumina di connessioni”

Alessandro Bietolini — “Controller MIDI modulare con cursori riposizionabili magnetici”

Martina Sirleto — “Progetto di riqualificazione a Favignana, tra memoria storica e identità del luogo”

Giuseppe Nicola Donadio — “Compatta”

Luca Rieder — “Apollo 98: il vuoto come misura dello spazio”

Simone Carnevali — “Modulovivo – Un sistema che restituisce spazio, tempo e cura alla vita vegetale”

Arianna Sordi — “Check Point: micro-architetture urbane per la sosta e il benessere dei rider delivery”

Annalisa De Iulis — “La Casa del Doganiere: progetto di riqualificazione e riuso di un sito dall’elevato patrimonio paesaggistico in Sicilia”

Giulia Di Giannantonio — “Abitare la memoria: progetto di riuso tra spazio, identità e ospitalità”

Sara Agellion — “Tra interno e quotidiano: ristrutturazione di una casa residenziale nelle Filippine”

Gaia Pugliese — “SOGLIA. Sistema di Riposo per le Emergenze”

Gianluca Panichi — “Elisir: progettazione di una lampada cromoterapeutica per il benessere sensoriale. Design e luce per l’equilibrio psicofisico”

Michela Iachetta — “Incastri Perfetti: quando il retail diventa relazione”

REFRESH WEEK 2026 AANT

From March 2 to 6 AANT opened a dedicated space within the academic calendar: Refresh Week. Before resuming regular teaching activities, students from all Bachelor’s degree programmes were invited to take part in a week of workshops, talks and laboratories that move beyond the boundaries of individual study plans to embrace transversal, interdisciplinary and contemporary themes. An active pause, adistributed laboratory of ideas, tools and visions. The aim is to stimulate open thinking, experiment with diverse languages, and foster dialogue between body, technology, storytelling, design and social responsibility.

Below are the scheduled events:

 

  • AI EMBODIMENT – Biosignals and Emotional Artificial Intelligence
    A workshop at the intersection of psychology and data science exploring how biosignals can interact with a Large Language Model and open new creative perspectives.
    Lecturers: Pasquale Giaccone.
  • OffTheAXES: BoDySign
    An experimental laboratory where the body becomes a design tool. Movement, space and light are transformed into material for performative and project-based research. Lecturer: Silvia Cassetta
  • Light as a Critical Tool – LAACT Project
    An international talk dedicated to light as a cultural medium and critical tool within contemporary artistic practice.
    Lecturer: Robert Sochacki
  • Inhabiting Letters
    Two days of calligraphy and mural writing to transform typographic signs into a collective environmental experience.
    Lecturers: Marta Lagna and Cira Viggiano
  • Treccani Arte – Visit to Palazzo Treccani
    A direct dialogue with contemporary visual arts across publishing, graphic design and research.
    Lecturer: Sara Buoso
  • A Jewel for Peace
    Symbols, words and design to translate a universal idea into a concrete project concept.
    Lecturer: Valentina Downey
  • Managing a Crisis in the Social Media Era
    An intensive laboratory on digital reputation, the ethics of storytelling and narrative responsibility.
    Lecturer: Fondazione Libero Bizzarri
  • Say, Do, Kiss
    Writing and character development: giving voice and narrative coherence through dialogue and action.
    Lecturer: Marco Andreoli
  • Super Student Tool Kit – Study Smarter, Not Harder
    Method, digital tools and collaborative work to develop an end-to-end design approach.
    Lecturer: Simone Mari

Creativity in Action: A Week of Immersive Learning at AANT with Liceo Argan and IIS Galilei

From February 16 to 20, AANT opened its classrooms and laboratories to two leading local schools: Liceo Artistico Giulio Carlo Argan and IIS Galileo Galilei. The initiative unfolded in two dedicated sessions and involved a total of 39 students in a 20-hour immersive learning experience focused on Graphic Design and Videomaking.

 

For Liceo Artistico Argan, 18 fourth-year students from the Fine Arts program were guided through the development of a visual communication project connected to the cultural event “Più libri, più liberi.” During four hours of daily lessons, participants explored every stage of the creative process: from the development of the visual concept to the creation of illustrations, culminating in the typographic composition of the poster. This comprehensive path combined design thinking and technical skills, with professional use of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. The objective was not only to produce a graphic outcome, but to understand the structure of a design project, the dynamics of cultural communication, and the importance of visual coherence.

 

At the same time, 21 third-year students from the Graphics and Communication program at IIS Galilei took part in a workshop dedicated to audiovisual languages. The laboratory introduced students to the world of videomaking through a structured, hands-on experience: narrative concept development and scriptwriting, storyboard creation, directing and filming exercises, and final editing using Adobe Premiere. The final result was an original audiovisual spot, developed through collaborative work that allowed students to engage with the real dynamics of video production, experiencing first-hand the interaction between creativity, technical skills, and on-set organization.

 

This initiative is part of AANT’s ongoing collaboration with upper secondary schools, aimed at offering immersive and career-oriented educational experiences in the fields of visual arts, design, and digital technologies. Through structured laboratory activities, the Academy promotes active learning based on practice, experimentation, and direct engagement with professional tools and methodologies.

AANT Bachelor’s Degree Graduation: Design, Research and Contemporary Vision

On February 14th, AANT hosted a new graduation session for its Bachelor’s Degree programs, a key milestone in the students’ academic journey and an important opportunity to publicly present their final projects. It was an intense and engaging day, shaped by themes ranging from the identity of the contemporary artist to digital storytelling, from design as a sensory experience to film culture. The graduates presented projects capable of combining theoretical research, project development and critical awareness, confirming the interdisciplinary approach that defines AANT’s educational offering.

Below are the names of the candidates and the titles of their final projects:

Giordana Giovannini “Factory: l’artista nel contemporaneo, tra spazio fisico e virtuale”

Gabriele Felci “Il blocco delle emozioni” 

Giulia Palomba “WOØDY – Crea senza limiti”

Martina Gianandrea “Il Podcast e la Narrazione Digitale – Il ruolo dei Video Podcast”

Ludovica Piccinini “Nasce, cresce, sente”

Matteo Sinopoli “Meet up in the Middle”

Shodai Nagata Colcera Il Direttore della fotografia: l’arte invisibile dell’immagine cinematografica”

Federica Pieralisi SAVE IT. Rubinetteria”

Sara Gherardi “Tocco, dunque, sono: come il tatto può ancorare al momento presente e restituire il valore dell’esserci”

We wish all of them a professional future filled with achievements and satisfaction.

AANT at the Triennale di Milano: students contribute to Alex Braga’s light installation

AANT takes part in the exhibition “E nel futuro…”, on view from February 6 to 22 at the Triennale di Milano, through the direct involvement of its students in the realization of the light-based and interactive installation by Alex Braga, member of the GeniaLAB Scientific Committee. The project confirms the role of the Rome-based Academy as a space for advanced education, experimentation, and dialogue between visual arts, digital technologies, and contemporary research.

 

Curated by Gabriele Simongini and promoted by Enel, the exhibition brings together three key figures in the history of light as an artistic language, Giacomo Balla, Fernando Jacopozzi, and Alex Braga, within an immersive journey that spans the twentieth century and reaches today’s most current artistic practices. “E nel futuro…” offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the Futurist legacy, in which light becomes a tool for engaging with space, the body, and perception. The exhibition path opens with a digital reinvention of Giacomo Balla’s historic stage design for “Feu d’artifice” (1917), animated by Alex Braga, and continues with a visual evocation of the work of Fernando Jacopozzi, a pioneer of urban lighting and a central figure in the transformation of Paris into the Ville Lumière. The exhibition weaves together historical memory, technological innovation, and a forward-looking vision, highlighting light as both artistic material and symbolic medium.

 

At the core of the exhibition is Alex Braga’s interactive installation “Automatic Impermanence”, an immersive dark room in which the audience is engaged in a sensory and perceptual experience—a metaphorical journey that brings together technology, artificial intelligence, and introspection. The work reflects on themes of identity, transformation, and impermanence, placing the relationship between human beings and digital systems at its center.

 

Within this high-profile cultural context, AANT promoted a project-based farm that enabled students from its undergraduate programs to actively collaborate in the realization of Alex Braga’s light installation, gaining hands-on experience with contemporary artistic production processes. The students involved in the project are:

 

  • Francesca Laghi
  • Adriano Roman
  • Gaia Piersanti
  • Jacopo Parodi
  • Aurora Conte
  • Giorgio Nelson Castellani
  • Gaia Mineo Lanza
  • Maurizio Matta
  • Benedetta Perri
  • Lara Lucia Sichetti

Meet the Expert: Margherita Pellino presents the Fondazione Magistretti

The Meet the Expert series at AANT continued on Wednesday, January 29, with an event dedicated to dialogue between project culture, research, and institutions. The guest of the meeting was Margherita Pellino, representing the Fondazione Magistretti, who presented the Foundation’s activities and vision. The Fondazione Magistretti is an institution dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the design and cultural legacy of Vico Magistretti, a central figure in 20th-century Italian design and architecture. Through exhibitions, editorial projects, educational initiatives, and research activities, the Foundation promotes a contemporary reflection on design, keeping alive the dialogue between memory, innovation, and experimentation.

The event, moderated by Professor Ernesto Venanzi and prof. Cristiano Sammarco, of the bachelor’s degree Design – Interior & Product, aimed to introduce the Fondazione Magistretti by outlining its main areas of action, ongoing projects, and participation opportunities open to students, researchers, and professionals. Margherita Pellino’s contribution highlighted the importance of building networks between institutions, archives, education, and the professional world, fostering an open dialogue with younger generations.

The meeting took the form of an open discussion, encouraging reflection on themes related to design, cultural project development, and research, and providing undergraduate students with useful tools to better understand the dynamics of contemporary cultural institutions.

Guest note: Margherita Pellino collaborates with the Fondazione Magistretti, working on cultural projects and valorization activities, with a particular focus on design, archives, and the transmission of knowledge.

Meet the Expert: Paolo Palermo and the New Forms of Storytelling Between Documentary and Multimedia Journalism

The Meet the Expert series continues with an event dedicated to storytelling the real through cinema, multimedia, and journalism. On Monday, January 27, AANT hosted Paolo Palermo, author and professional in audiovisual journalism, for an in-depth discussion on the transformations of contemporary narrative forms.

The meeting, moderated by Professor Valerio Di Paola, coordinator of the bachelor’s degree in Videomaking, Story, Cinema e Media Design, retraced some key stages of Palermo’s research and professional path, from traditional documentary filmmaking—also through the use of archival materials—to the webdoc, understood as a hybrid narrative form capable of intertwining videomaking, photography, and writing for the web.

During the event, the differences between reportage and investigative journalism were explored, with a focus on the role of videomaking in television journalism and the new responsibilities of the author within an ever-evolving media landscape. Particular attention was given to how storytelling forms have changed, the relationship with sources, and narrative construction in the digital era.

What emerged was a dialogue between different languages—cinema, multimedia, and journalism—which provided undergraduate students with critical tools to better understand new audiovisual professions and the contemporary challenges of representing reality.

Guest note: Paolo Palermo has been working for many years in the field of television investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking. His work includes reportage, in-depth investigations, and audiovisual projects focused on current affairs and social analysis.

From Rai to classroom: Elisa Isoardi guest in AANT

Yesterday, during the Creative Writing course taught by Professor Giona Peduzzi, students from the Videomaking, Story, Cinema and Media Design programme had the opportunity to meet television host Elisa Isoardi. A long-standing Rai author with over twenty years of experience in the television industry, from the Sanremo Music Festival to major entertainment formats, Professor Peduzzi guides third-year students through a highly practical and professional-oriented pathway in screenwriting, with a strong focus on the dynamics and demands of contemporary broadcasting.

At the heart of today’s discussion was Elisa Isoardi herself, a well-known television presenter with a long career in public service broadcasting. During the session with students at the Rome-based Academy, Isoardi shared professional insights into building effective audiovisual narratives, adapting content across different platforms, and understanding the crucial relationship between text, rhythm and image. Drawing on examples from her experience in live television, she encouraged critical reflection among participants, emphasizing how writing for video requires rigor, creativity and a deep understanding of the audience. The meeting concluded with a Q&A session, giving students the opportunity to engage directly with the guest speaker.

Claudio Paolucci presents Nati cyborg: a reflection between artificial intelligence and language

AANT has introduced a new event under the GeniaLAB banner, the research and discussion format dedicated to contemporary languages and their cultural transformations. At the heart of the event—moderated by Prof. Gianna Angelini, AANT’s Scientific Director and Head of Internationalization—was a conversation on the relationship between artificial intelligence and language, featuring the presentation of the book Born Cyborgs by Prof. Claudio Paolucci, Full Professor at the University of Bologna.

During the meeting, the guest, together with the students, explored how the production of texts and modes of communication change radically when, alongside human beings, machines also “speak.” What do we mean today by understanding, intention, and creativity? What are the cultural, social, and ethical implications of the everyday use of artificial intelligence tools? Drawing on a semiotic perspective, the book highlights opportunities, ambiguities, and shadow areas within the new digital linguistic system. Today, generative AI is no longer an external object, but a mirror that forces us to question who we are and who we are becoming. This is a topic of great importance and interest for students enrolled in AANT’s three-year academic programs.

Speaker note: Claudio Paolucci is Full Professor of Philosophy and Theory of Languages in the Department of Philosophy and Communication at the University of Bologna, where he teaches Semiotics and Philosophy of Language. President of the Italian Society for the Philosophy of Language (SFL), he is the scientific coordinator of the International Center for Humanistic Studies “Umberto Eco.” His research focuses on language, cognition, and processes of meaning-making, with particular attention to the relationship between artificial intelligence and cultural practices. He is the author of numerous essays and landmark volumes in the contemporary theoretical landscape.

25th Hour at AANT: the creative marathon celebrates its 10th edition

On 23 and 24 January, AANT hosted the 10th edition of the 25th Hour, the creative marathon that represents one of the most intense and defining moments of academic life. A symbolic milestone, celebrated through 24 hours of design, dialogue, and experimentation, where creativity was tested against a real, complex, and multidisciplinary brief.

Five teams competed, each assigned a colour (yellow, green, blue, orange, and red), and were tasked with working on an authentic professional assignment for two institutional clients: the Groupe des Ambassadeurs Francophones (GAF) and the Institut français Centre Saint-Louis (IFCSL), organiser of the Francofilm Festival.

For GAF, students were asked to design a new visual identity capable of representing its core values: dialogue, diversity, solidarity, respect for otherness, and peace. For IFCSL, students had to develop an integrated design system for the 16th edition of the Francofilm Festival: an official trailer video and its Instagram Reel version, a gamification concept, several proposals for festival space installations, and the design of the three official awards. The teams, made up of faculty and students from the three-year programmes, worked intensively for 24 hours.

What made this edition even more meaningful was its emotional dimension: the 25th Hour 2026 marked ten years of a format that tests skills, creative endurance, and the ability to work as a team, but above all builds relationships and a sense of belonging. Emotions, design tension, enthusiasm, and pride ran through the Academy for two consecutive days, also shared in real time on AANT’s social media channels.

At the end of the marathon, the red team took first place, standing out for its design coherence, conceptual strength, and execution quality. Only one winning team, but an experience shared by all participants, confirming the educational and human value of the 25th Hour.