foster, colomina, obrist, gates, and more curate triennale 2025 'inequalities' exhibition

triennale milano 2025 tackles global disparities with inequalities

Triennale Milano presents the 24th edition of its International Exhibition, titled Inequalities, running from May 13th to November 9th, 2025, at the Palazzo dell’Arte, Milan. Following Broken Nature in 2019, which explored sustainability, and Unknown Unknowns in 2022, which examined the mysteries of the cosmos, the final installment of this trilogy shifts the focus back to the human condition and confronts one of today’s most pressing issues—global disparities across urban, social, and economic landscapes.

Curated by leading figures in architecture, art, and academia—including Norman Foster, architectural historian Beatriz Colomina, architect and lecturer Mark Wigley, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, director of the Serpentine Galleries—the exhibition assembles voices from 43 countries to interrogate inequality from multiple perspectives. It is set to feature projects by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Kazuyo Sejima and Alejandro Aravena, as well as Elizabeth Diller of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Boonserm Premthada of Bangkok Project Studio, and interdisciplinary artist Theaster Gates. Filmmaker Amos Gitai will also contribute, adding cinematic depth to the discourse.

Brazil, Johnny Miller, Unequal Scenes

leading figures gather for the 24th international exhibition

As inequalities deepen across the globe, the 2025 International Exhibition promises to offer critical insights and tangible pathways toward a more equitable future. The spatial layout of the show at the Palazzo dell’Arte will be divided into two thematic sections. The ground floor will examine the geopolitics of inequality, addressing urban wealth disparities and their evolving implications. The first floor will delve into the biopolitics of inequality, scrutinizing how social, economic, and gender disparities shape life and mobility. Special national pavilions—organized under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE)—will each spotlight a different city, identifying innovative policy proposals to mitigate urban inequalities. 

The 24th edition of the exhibition gathers leading scholars, curators, designers, and institutions to explore the geopolitical and biopolitical dimensions of inequality. The curatorial team includes 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, and Black History Months Milan (Jermay Michael Gabriel), Norman Foster, Theaster Gates, and Telmo Pievani. The exhibition also features special projects by Amos Gitai, Elizabeth Diller/Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Federica Fragapane, Filippo Teoldi, Maurizio Molinari, Kimia Zabhiyan (Grenfell Next of Kin), Jacopo Allegrucci, and Ingo Niermann. Designing the exhibition layouts and installations are Abnormal, Gisto, Grace, Midori Hasuike, Orizzontale, and Sopa Design Studio.

Brazil, Johnny Miller, Unequal Scenes

performances, research, and public engagement

Alongside the main exhibition, Inequalities will extend into a performative program curated by Umberto Angelini, featuring artists such as Chiara Bersani, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, and Peeping Tom. The event will also include a public program led by Damiano Gullì, engaging scholars and cultural figures in discussions throughout its duration. Nobel laureate Michael Spence will deliver a keynote address at the opening ceremony on May 12, underscoring the event’s intellectual rigor. A new initiative, Triennale on Tour, will take the exhibition beyond its Milanese venue, visiting eight municipalities with a mobile unit designed by Orizzontale architects’ collective.

For the first time, the Triennale International Exhibition brings together five major Milanese universities—University of Milan-Bicocca, Bocconi University, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Politecnico di Milano, and Università degli Studi di Milano—alongside the IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Foundation. The exhibition also fosters collaboration with over 20 international institutions, including the Arctic Center, Democracy and Culture Foundation, Columbia University, Norman Foster Foundation, Oficina del Historiador, Princeton University, and Serpentine Galleries. Scientific coordination is led by Beatrice Balducci, with international curation by Laura Maeran. 

Norman Foster Foundation, Towards an Equal Future, Essential Homes Research Project | image © Pablo Gómez-Ogando, courtesy of the Norman Foster Foundation

Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, We the Bacteria: Notes Toward Biotic Architecture, E-Coli rendering based on scanning electron microscopic (SEM) | image Alissa Eckert for CDC, public domain

Nic Palmarini and Marco Sammicheli, The Republic of Longevity. In health equality we trust, Brynjar Sigurdarson, The Silent Village Entrance Trance | image © Fabrice Gousset Courtesy Galerie kreo

Serpentine Gallery and Damiano Gullì, Radio Ballads, Ilona Sagar, The Body Blow, Film Still, 2022, | image courtesy the artist and Serpentine, London

Telmo Pievani, A journey into biodiversity, Eight forays on planet earth, Marta Cusconà

Telmo Pievani, A journey into biodiversity. Eight forays on planet earth, Peter Godfrey-Smith

Theaster Gates, A Clay Biography, Theaster Gates, Yoshihiro Koide Collection (1941-2022) | image courtesy Theaster Gates Studio and Mori Art Museum

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Filippo Teoldi, 471 days | pre war satellite by Google Earth

Telmo Pievani, A journey into biodiversity. Eight forays on planet earth, Città sommerse

RICristina Kristal Rizzo/Diana Anselmo, Monumentum | image by SaraMeliti

Federica Fragapane, Shapes of Inequalities | data visualization by Federica Fragapane

Rory Pilgrim, RAFTS, Barking and Dagenham Youth Dance, Production Still, 2021 | image by Matthew Ritson, courtesy the artist and Serpentine, London

project info:

name: 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition – Inequalities | @triennalemilano

curators & contributors: Norman Foster, Beatriz Colomina, Mark Wigley, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Theaster Gates, Giovanni Agosti, Jacopo Stoppa, Marco Sammicheli, Nic Palmarini, Nina Bassoli, Natalia Grabowska, Seble Woldeghiorghis, Damiano Gullì, Black History Months Milan (Jermay Michael Gabriel), Telmo Pievani

location: Palazzo dell’Arte, Milan, Italy

dates: May 13 – November 9, 2025