Inequalities at the heart of the 24th International Exhibition of Triennale Milano

Triennale Milano’s 24th International Exhibition, Inequalities, will be held from May 13 to Nov. 9, 2025, focusing on the economic, ethnic, geographic and gender inequalities that characterize the contemporary world. The event will involve internationally renowned curators and cultural institutions from 43 countries, offering exhibitions, installations and a rich public program. The event marks the conclusion of a thematic trilogy that began in 2019 with Broken Nature, dedicated to sustainability, and continued in 2022 with Unknown Unknowns, focusing on the mysteries of the universe. Inequalities is a collective project that, through exhibitions, installations, special projects and public program events, questions the global challenges related to the differences present in various spheres of existence: from economic to ethnic, from geographic origin to gender. Triennale Milano has involved some of the major players on the international art and cultural scene, inviting them to reflect on the theme of inequality.

Curators and curators participating in the 24th International Exhibition include Norman Foster, architect and winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize; Beatriz Colomina, architectural historian at Princeton University; Mark Wigley, architect and lecturer at Columbia University in New York; Hans Ulrich Obrist, director of the Serpentine Galleries in London and a highly influential curator; and Theaster Gates, an interdisciplinary artist who combines social practice, performance and sculpture. Projects by some of the world’s leading architects will be on display, including Pritzker Prize winners Kazuyo Sejima and Alejandro Aravena; Elizabeth Diller, of the New York-based firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Boonserm Premthada, architect and founding artist of Bangkok Project Studio; as well as contributions by artist and filmmaker Amos Gitai, recognized as one of the landmarks of contemporary cinema.

In addition, Nobel Laureate in Economics Michael Spence will participate in Inequalities with a lecture during the opening ceremony of the International Exhibition on May 12.

Triennale Milano’s International Exposition is the only cultural event permanently recognized by the BIE - Bureau International des Expositions, the intergovernmental organization that manages Universal and International Expositions. As per the BIE regulations, the role of Commissioner General is entrusted to the institution’s President, Stefano Boeri.

“Inside the halls of our Triennial, for six months, we will talk about inequality,” says Stefano Boeri. “We will do it by talking about cities and spaces, but also about bodies and lives. We will do it through a series of exhibitions that will show how immense riches are today in the hands of a tiny handful of individuals. And how today being born poor is an irreversible condition for millions and millions of the planet’s inhabitants. We will do this by telling about how inequalities-the ones we are born with and the ones we encounter or even create over time-act on the life and health expectations of each of us. We will talk about ghettos and wars, the ultimate expression of inequalities so rigid, so profoundly unjust, that they turn into cruel devices of death. But in the exhibition you will visit, you will also encounter the good ideas, the careful policies, the best projects that know how to sometimes transform inequalities into fertile differences, into shared qualities that allow individuals though different to exchange values, mutually enriching each other. With Inequalities, Triennale Milano therefore does not claim to exhaust a theme, but rather, as it has always done, to suggest reflections and propose some solutions.”

“At the heart of every Expo organized under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions is a fundamental mission: to show the means available to humanity to meet the needs of civilization,” says Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, Secretary General of the BIE - Bureau International des Expositions. “The 24th Triennale Milano International Exposition, like its previous editions, perfectly embodies this mission by inviting us to examine one of the most pressing challenges of our time: inequality. In a world with ever-changing inequalities, this edition represents a crucial opportunity to explore not only existing gaps, but also potential pathways to a more balanced and inclusive future.”

Curators, designers and collaborations

The 24th International Exhibition brings together personalities from the worlds of art, design, architecture, collectives, cultural institutions, museums and research institutes from 43 countries around the world. Inequalities involves nine high-profile scholarly curatorships: Giovanni Agosti and Jacopo Stoppa; Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley; Marco Sammicheli and Nic Palmarini; Nina Bassoli; Hans Ulrich Obrist and Natalia Grabowska; Seble Woldeghiorghis, Damiano Gullì, Black History Months Milan (Jermay Michael Gabriel); Norman Foster; Theaster Gates; and Umberto Angelini. In addition, eight special project authors - including Amos Gitai; Elizabeth Diller / Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Federica Fragapane; Filippo Teoldi; Maurizio Molinari; Kimia Zabhiyan (Grenfell Next of Kin); Jacopo Allegrucci; Ingo Niermann - and six designers and studios - Abnormal, Gisto, Grace, Midori Hasuike, Orizzontale, Sopa Design Studio - were called upon to design exhibition and installation layouts.

For the first time, the Exposition involved five Milanese universities - Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Università Bocconi, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Politecnico di Milano and Università degli Studi di Milano - and saw the participation of Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico. With a view to exchange and networking, Inequalities also sees collaboration with more than 20 international institutions, including Arctic Center, Democracy and Culture Foundation, Columbia University, Norman Foster Foundation, Oficina del Historiador, Princeton University, Serpentine Galleries. The scientific coordination is overseen by Beatrice Balducci, while the International Exhibition is coordinated by Laura Maeran.

Geopolitics of inequalities and biopolitics of inequalities.

To address such a broad and complex topic, Triennale Milano has gathered thoughts, ideas and proposals from researchers, creatives and scholars of various disciplines from different parts of the world, maintaining an interdisciplinary and critical approach. Inequalities seeks to analyze the causes and effects of global inequalities, interweaving historical, economic, political and artistic perspectives.

The section on the geopolitics of inequalities explores the role of borders, migration and differences in access to resources in shaping an increasingly segmented world. In parallel, the biopolitics of inequality investigates the dynamics of control and power exercised over bodies and communities through regulatory, technological and social devices that amplify existing inequalities.

Performative programming

Curated by Umberto Angelini, the performative programming planned between October and November will feature artists from diverse geographical backgrounds and generations. Through perspectives both related and distant, the performers will offer an investigation into the inequalities of bodies, individual and social frailties and marginalities, anxieties and desires. A choral scenic language will create an inclusive and surprising performance, capable of restoring the complexity and extraordinary diversity of the contemporary.

Among the names involved: Chiara Bersani, Fabio Chertisch, Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige, Nelson Makengo, Muna Mussie, Peeping Tom, Cristina Kristal Rizzo, Diana Anselmo and Virgilio Sieni.

The Public Program

Curated by Damiano Gullì, the public program will accompany the International Exhibition offering an in-depth look at the central themes of the event. Involving leading figures from different disciplines, it will run throughout the duration of the event. The events, launched in February and scheduled through November, are being held in collaboration with the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.

On the occasion of the opening of Inequalities, Triennale will host Art for Tomorrow, an international event that this year will be held in Milan. Promoted in collaboration with Milano & Partners, Democracy and Culture Foundation and The New York Times, the initiative will present a discussion on the major issues of the art system, with prominent guests and authoritative voices from the cultural scene.

For each edition of the Triennale Milano International Exhibition, the visual identity of the event is entrusted to a designer or graphic design studio of international prestige. For the 24th edition, the choice fell to design firm Pentagram, selected through an invitation-only process. Founded in London in 1972, Pentagram now operates on a global scale with offices in Austin, Berlin, London and New York. The graphic design, developed by the firm’s partner team of Giorgia Lupi, transforms communication into a vehicle for content, using data to tell stories that reflect changes in the contemporary world.

Two publications will also be produced on the occasion of Inequalities. The first, edited by Electa with graphic design by Pentagram, will be available from the opening of the exhibition and will serve as the official catalog, collecting contributions from the curators, artists and designers involved. The second, due out in the fall, will be entrusted to the editorial staff of Lotus, with which Triennale Milano has initiated a collaboration that has already led to the publication of three issues of the magazine dedicated to the theme of inequality. This new volume will be a double edition of Lotus, designed to offer critical insights into the issues addressed in the exhibition.

A project sponsored by leading institutions and partners

The 24th Inequalities International Exhibition is promoted by Triennale Milano in collaboration with the Bureau International des Expositions-which officially recognized the event on November 28, 2023-and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The project is supported by Fondazione La Triennale di Milano’s institutional partners: the Ministry of Culture, the Lombardy Region, the City of Milan and the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, Monza, Brianza and Lodi.

The initiative also benefits from the contribution of prestigious academic partners, including the University of Milan-Bicocca, Bocconi University, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan Polytechnic, and the University of Milan. Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico and Main Partner Lavazza Group provide additional support. Partners include Deloitte and Fondazione Deloitte, idealista and Lundbeck, while Scalo Milano Outlet & More is the Education Partner. Will Media participates as Media Partner, Streetvox as OOH Partner, ATM as Technical Partner and Salone del Mobile.Milano as Institutional Partner.

Inequalities at the heart of the 24th International Exhibition of Triennale Milano

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