Designing the Invisible: AANT at the DxS Conference 2026

How do we design something we cannot see? And how can design give form, meaning and experience to what lies beyond visual perception? These questions are at the heart of the two contributions through which AANT will take part in the DxS Conference 2026, scheduled for 15–16 October in Rome at AMKA Social Hub.

Now in its third edition, the Conference is promoted by the DxS: Design (per) Semiotics study group, which explores the dialogue between design and semiotics through the themes of perception, action and meaning-making. The 2026 edition focuses on the theme The Credible and the Incredible: Architectures of Imagination.

Representing AANT will be Alessandra Reggiani, architect, lighting designer, AANT lecturer and Director of the LuDe – Lighting Design Master’s Programme, and Michelle Damilano, a second-year Design student.

With her presentation “Illuminating the Invisible”, Alessandra Reggiani will explore light as a design medium capable of shaping experience, communication and our relationship with space. Her focus will be on underground environments, where technical, practical, perceptual and sensory aspects intersect in unusual conditions. Here, the immaterial nature of light meets the “invisibility” of space, calling for specific design approaches and a different perspective on the relationship between lighting and perception.

Michelle Damilano approaches the theme from a different perspective with her contribution, “Describing the Invisible: Colour Beyond Sight.” The project emerged during her academic studies from an apparently simple question: how can we describe a colour without referring to visual elements or objects commonly associated with it? This question gave rise to a research project exploring how the experience of colour can be made accessible to blind and visually impaired people through multisensory and narrative tools. Colour is thus taken beyond its exclusively visual dimension and interpreted through textures, temperatures, sounds, emotions and sensory associations.

Two contributions that, from different perspectives and levels of experience, share the same field of inquiry: exploring what design can make perceptible, accessible and meaningful. Because designing also means questioning what we take for granted and finding new languages to make visible and shareable what is not yet so.

AANT Students’ Documentaries at Pigneto Film Festival 2026

On Friday, October 9, starting at 6:00 p.m., Prima di domani and Quanto basta, two documentaries created by first-year students of AANT’s three-year academic programme in Videomaking, Story, Cinema and Media Design, will be screened at Cantina Rosé as part of the Pigneto Film Festival.

 

The event is part of the programme of activities taking place across the neighbourhood during the Festival, bringing cinema into a variety of spaces and creating opportunities for filmmakers, audiences and the local community to come together.

 

Developed as part of the educational activities offered by the Academy in Rome, the two projects share a common area of exploration: observing the present through the voices, expectations and fears of people from different generations and social backgrounds. Prima di domani builds a collective narrative around the pursuit of happiness, exploring the relationship between individual desires, expectations and social pressures. Quanto basta, on the other hand, begins with a direct question — “What are we afraid of when we think about the future?” — and, through interviews and personal accounts, brings different experiences into dialogue, revealing shared fears and questions that transcend individual differences.

 

Guided by AANT faculty members, the students approached documentary filmmaking as a practice rooted in observation, listening and engagement with reality.

AANT at Creative Skills Week 2026

From 7 to 9 September, Brussels hosted the fourth and final edition of Creative Skills Week, an event dedicated to the future of creative skills in Europe and part of CYANOTYPES, a project funded by the European Union.

The event, attended by AANT lecturer Enrico Di Munno, took place at LUCA School of Arts and ICHEC Brussels Management School. It brought together public and private educational institutions from several European countries, providing an opportunity to reflect on the work carried out over the past four years and discuss the transformations currently reshaping education and the creative industries.

Three days of meetings, workshops and working sessions focused on Creative Skills, exploring their role within schools and training institutions against a backdrop of profound digital, technological and geopolitical change.

The first day, dedicated to “Why Creative Skills Matter”, opened the discussion on the value of creative skills through the CYANOTYPES Creative Agency Clinic. The session showcased a wide range of pilot projects developed by the institutions involved in the programme, including the experience of AANT and Genialab. The discussion highlighted how creativity, the ability to connect different disciplines, experimentation and adaptability are playing an increasingly important role in the development of new educational models.

The second day focused on “Making Creative Skills Systemic”, with workshops and opportunities for direct exchange between institutions around their respective pilot projects. The thematic working sessions brought to light strategies, challenges and perspectives related to the application of the CYANOTYPES framework as a tool for designing and evaluating educational programmes aimed at developing Creative Skills. In this context, AANT presented its experience with BIP Secret Spaces, a pilot project that has already been implemented and is now undergoing further development.

The third and final day, dedicated to “What Needs to Change”, brought together the reflections that emerged during the previous sessions, focusing on how Creative Skills can be strengthened as tools for designing and interpreting contemporary education.

Three main directions emerged from the discussion: strengthening the dialogue between creative, humanities and technological disciplines; developing shared methods for assessing skills, including transversal skills; and maintaining the international network established through CYANOTYPES, in order to continue sharing experiences and developing new educational models.

My Story: AANT and AID Join Forces to Turn Stories into Digital Languages

Telling your own story means choosing words, images, and sounds that can give shape to your experience. When these elements are combined with the tools of digital communication, a personal story can become a creative project to be shared with others.

 

This is the idea behind “My Story: a digital storytelling workshop for students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs)”, an initiative promoted by the Rome branch of the Italian Dyslexia Association (AID). The workshop will take place on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at IC Fratelli Cervi in Rome, ahead of National Dyslexia Week 2026.

 

The workshop will engage young people with Specific Learning Disorders in a journey focused on self-narration. Drawing on their own experiences, strengths, challenges, and the strategies they have developed throughout their learning journey, participants will be guided through the process of creating a story and subsequently transforming it through digital media.

 

AANT will take part in the initiative as a technical partner for the audiovisual, directing, and digital production components, continuing the collaboration and training activities developed with AID Rome. The workshop will feature Valentina Miniati, lecturer and AID trainer, alongside Valeria Grasso, AANT lecturer, and Valerio Di Paola, coordinator of AANT’s Videomaking course.

 

Creativity, technology, and inclusion come together in an experience where digital media are not simply a means of production, but a tool through which people can tell their own stories and convey the complexity of the present.

 

For further information about the programme and how to participate, please visit the event page on the AID Rome website.

Talking Maps, Living Memories: Performing Media Comes to AANT

On 22 September, the Aula Magna at AANT became a space for exploring the intersection of memory and innovation with “Paesaggi Umani di Roma Plurale. Performing Media Storytelling per la Memoria Rigenerativa”, a project now in its second edition and part of the Rome Future Week programme.

The event brought to the Academy in Rome a reflection closely connected to contemporary research in the fields of art and new technologies: how can digital tools give voice to the places, stories and memories that shape the city?

“Paesaggi Umani di Roma Plurale” transforms the city into an environment to be explored, listened to and reinterpreted. Walkabouts, workshops, geolocated podcasts, augmented reality, video projections and Artificial Intelligence become tools for actively engaging students, citizens and performers in discovering the stories and memories of Rome’s neighbourhoods.

At the heart of the event at AANT was Performing Media Storytelling, a practice that brings together urban space, narrative and digital technologies, experimenting with new ways of building and sharing collective memory. Among the experiences presented was that of Polyhymnia, the Muse of Memory, whose 2nd-century AD statue was discovered beneath Villa Fiorelli in 1928 and is now being reinterpreted through a digital double.

A special thanks to Carlo Infante and Nuvola Project for the experience they offered to all our students.

AANT at EAIE 2026 in Glasgow

From 8 to 11 September 2026, AANT took part in the 36th Annual EAIE Conference and Exhibition, organised by the European Association for International Education in Glasgow, Scotland. The Academy was represented by Gianna Angelini, Head of Internationalisation and Scientific Director, whose programme of meetings focused on strengthening existing collaborations and developing new academic connections. 

Bringing together more than 7,300 professionals from over 100 countries, the event gathered the international higher education community around the theme “The Rhythm of Revolution”: an invitation to reflect on change and the role of cooperation in shaping the future of education. 

For AANT, discussions centred on developing learning opportunities for students and staff: study exchanges, short programmes, collaborative workshops and professional development experiences. Meetings with existing partners provided an opportunity to review current activities and begin planning for the new academic year, while new contacts opened up possibilities across design, communication, audiovisual media and creative technologies. 

The conference also offered an opportunity to present AANT’s educational identity and discuss the development of its English-taught provision, with the aim of welcoming an increasingly international student community. This approach complements opportunities abroad with the chance to study and work on creative projects in Rome alongside people from different cultural backgrounds. Particular attention was given to the ethical and sustainable use of AI in the classroom.

AANT’s participation in EAIE continues the Academy’s work towards an education that connects creative skills, international experiences and professional practice.

The AANT Faculty Meeting Opens the New Academic Year

A new academic year begins with the people, skills and ideas that contribute every day to shaping the identity of AANT. On Monday, September 14, the Academy hosted its Faculty Meeting, bringing together the teaching staff for a moment of exchange and discussion ahead of the start of the new academic year.

The plenary meeting was also an opportunity to welcome the new lecturers joining the AANT community, bringing with them their experience, professional expertise and fresh perspectives. The expansion of the teaching staff further strengthens the ongoing dialogue between education and the professional world, a key element of the educational approach of the Academy in Rome.

During the Faculty Meeting we discussed results and future prospects in the areas of teaching, research, internationalisation, events, and the academic offering. The coordinators of the three-year academic programmes took the floor to share perspectives, objectives and plans for supporting students throughout the months ahead.

The exchange between different disciplines, experiences and creative languages is a fundamental part of the AANT educational experience: an environment where creativity, research, design and new technologies come together and become opportunities for growth.

The Faculty Meeting concluded with shared wishes for a successful new academic year to the entire AANT community.

AANT Erasmus Welcome Day

New encounters, new perspectives, and the start of an academic year shaped by international exchange. During the Welcome Day on September 4, AANT welcomed nine Erasmus students from European partner universities and institutions, ready to experience a journey of learning, exchange, and creative cross-pollination in Rome.

The students joining the Academy in this first semester are Adriana Hormigos Sanz, from UNIE in Spain; Rebeca Gimenez Esteban, from UDIT in Spain; Sara Lucas, from KdG in Belgium; Moria Dzerdz, from EICAR in France; Mariana Montalvo Nuno Amaral Figueiredo and Maria Luisa Loureiro Da Silva, both from IPCA in Portugal; Luisa Gropp, from Hochschule der Medien in Germany; Iria Gonzales, from CEU in Spain; and Annabelle Blackert, from Technische Hochschule Mannheim in Germany.

During their time at the Academy, the students will have the opportunity to attend courses in Design, Advertising, Videomaking, and Game, exploring the methodologies, creative languages, and projects that define the AANT learning experience.

The Erasmus programme is much more than an opportunity to study abroad: it is a chance for different cultures, skills, and perspectives to come together. The presence of our new students is therefore an enriching experience for the entire AANT community, encouraging the exchange of ideas and the creation of new connections within an increasingly open and international creative environment.

To all of them, welcome to AANT and welcome to Rome!

New AANT Graduates on July 25th

With the thesis presentations held on 25 July, AANT concludes its summer graduation session, celebrating a new group of students who have reached an important milestone in their academic journey. The theses discussed offer a vivid overview of the creative and design-driven approach that characterises the educational experience at the Academy in Rome. Through research, concepts and experimentation, the graduating students explored topics related to communication, visual arts, cinema and new technologies, demonstrating an approach that brings together design culture, innovation and a contemporary vision.

Below are the names of the new graduates and the titles of their respective thesis projects:

  • Luca Molluso: “Harmony: regole semplici, possibilità infinite” 
  • Carboni Camilla Sofia: “Oltre il labirinto della navigazione web”
  • Asia Peroni: “Over the gaze: autorialità, identità e immaginario audiovisivo nel fashion film contemporaneo” 
  • Alessandro Michele Alterio: “Due Facce, un cosplayer” 
  • Tommaso Colucci: “Dressing will never be the same. Videoediting per raccontare thrifting, brand identity e e-commerce” 
  • Emanuele DI Vico: “ERROR 404-Memory not found” 
  • Benedetta Esposto: “L’estetica dell’invisibile” 
  • Giovannina Onofrietti: “Ascoltando Napoli” 
  • Luca Fizzano: “PROFAIL: smettere di scrollare per iniziare a giocare” 
  • Riccardo De Francesco: “Nero felicità. Storie di disobbedienza cromatica” 
  • Marco Casini: “INTELLIGENZA ARTIFICIALE E COMUNICAZIONE POLITICA: dalla disinformazione artigianale al processo industriale industrializzato” 
  • Ludovico D’Onofrio: “Castellaneta. Storie di pietra e di vento” 
  • Simone Rossi: “How we talk: il muro come spazio di dialogo nella cultura urbana contemporanea” 
  • Sabrina Cretu: “Ferre Majeure: lo spot della Nike come motore di storytelling per una campagna transmediale” 
  • Giuseppe Denni: “Bandeja: presentazione di un carattere tipografico per la comunicazione del Premier Padel” 
  • Daniele Poli: “Ocula: il sistema tipografico adattivo in tempo reale” 
  • Valerio Pellegrini: “Libertà del volo” 

 

The entire AANT academic community extends its congratulations to all our new graduates and wishes them every success in a future filled with exciting professional and creative opportunities.

AANT Graduation Session: 24 Jul

The day of 24 July marked one of the most significant moments of AANT’s Didactics, as students reached the culmination of their academic journey by presenting and defending their thesis projects. Each project represents the outcome of a course of study grounded in research, experimentation, and the ability to transform ideas into concrete proposals.

 

Below are the names of the new graduates and their respective thesis projects:

 

  • Sarah Castelluccio: ” La multisensorialità come strumento di progettazione degli spazi di lavoro: analisi e redesign per il benessere, il comfort e la concentrazione”
  • Edoardo Bonfà: “Estetizzazione della violenza nelle opere dell’audiovisivo” 
  • Andrea Aufiero: “Oltre il Videoclip” 
  • Giovanni Rizzuto: “Il suono nomato” Dinamica, percezione e potere tra sala cinematografica e piattaforme streaming” 
  • Mattia Valentino: “UX*Ray: un toolkit per la formazione dei designer junior”
  • Arianna Margheri: “Flowy: progettazione di una app per l’apprendimento dell’inglese accessibile ad utenti con ADHD e DSA” 
  • Federica Marina Munteanu: “I parchi nell’era della disconnessione sociale”  
  • Andrea Gigliotti: “Forma del Tragico: dalla scena attica allo schermo” 
  • Virginia Ricotta: “Il Casale della Cerveletta: un progetto di riqualificazione tra memoria e contemporaneità” 

 

AANT congratulates all its new graduates on their commitment, determination, and the quality of the projects they have presented. We wish each of them every success as they continue their professional journey, guided by the same curiosity, creativity, and innovative spirit that have defined these thesis projects.