NABA presents the second edition of “PLAI”, the innovative exhibition-playground conceived by Vincenzo Cuccia (Media Design and New Technologies and Set Design Area Leader) and Michele Aquila (Master of Arts in Creative Media Production Course Leader), taking place from March 25 to 27, 2025, at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema in Milan (Via Milazzo, 9).
Designed to explore the state of the art in creative experimentation, the exhibition will open on March 25 at 6:00 PM, allowing visitors to discover the projects developed by students from the Master of Arts in Creative Media Production. Showcasing a wide range of technologies and expressive languages, the works on display will include multimedia installations, documentaries, immersive Virtual Reality experiences, AI-driven audiovisual experiments, sound design, and video podcasts.
The theme of the second edition of “PLAI”
The second edition of “PLAI” explores the theme of Elsewhere—a common thread running through the exhibited installations and a concept that engages in dialogue with the NABA Cinema Awards, the Academy’s event celebrating the best audiovisual projects created by students from the Media Design and New Technologies and Set Design Areas. The awards will take place on March 26 and 27in Milan at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema, and in Rome at Cinema Intrastevere. Both initiatives are part of the NABA Public Program 2025, a wide-ranging calendar of public events in Milan and Rome.
As Michele Aquila explains in the exhibition’s curatorial statement, for students, the significance of Elsewhere lies in the design process rather than the final destination. This perspective is reflected in the exploration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and in experimentation with immersive tools like virtual reality—where the journey itself may reveal unexpected possibilities. The projects showcased in “PLAI” envision future scenarios that, one day, could lead us all towards an elsewhere that becomes both an act of imagination and a design challenge.
“PLAI”: the exhibition-playground structure
The exhibition will unfold across different sections within the spaces of Anteo Palazzo del Cinema. The Sala Nobel (Nobel Room) will host the Documentary Section, featuring projects by students who, during their studies at NABA, have explored new creative approaches. Through unconventional perspectives, archival material reinterpretation, and hybridisation with computer graphics and artificial intelligence, these works challenge traditional documentary formats.
On the opening night of March 25 at 6:00 PM, the same venue will host a live audiovisual performance, offering the audience an immersive experience of generative music and images. Preceding the performance, starting at 5:00 PM, a live broadcast on NABA’s YouTube channel, hosted by NABA lecturer Igor Muroni, will introduce the event and continue throughout the evening.
The Interactive Media Section will explore the field of non-linear narratives and the hybridisation of languages. In this area, visitors will have the opportunity to experience a different kind of Elsewhere through projects developed using Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence.
The Sala Ciak (Ciak Room) will be dedicated to the Multimedia Installation Section, which will examine a range of themes—from society’s obsession with images and visibility to the relationship with tradition, the interaction between adults and children, and the connection with fantasy and the unconscious. Meanwhile, the two projects within the Sound Design Section, located in the Library and the corridor, will enrich the spaces of Anteo Palazzo del Cinema.
A Fanzine dedicated to the exhibition will provide in-depth insights into the projects on display, with a special focus on Artificial Intelligence in the insert “AI Field Guide”. Additionally, on NABA’s YouTube channel, students from the Master of Arts, under the guidance of NABA lecturer Federico Bernocchi, will explore Elsewhere through a series of video podcasts dedicated to the exhibition theme in cinema.
PLAI, event details
Tuesday, March 25, opening from 6:00 PM
Wednesday, March 26, and Thursday, March 27, from 11:00 AM
Anteo Palazzo del Cinema
Via Milazzo 9, Milan
Access to the exhibition and all events is free with mandatory booking at this link