“We are born unequal, all of us.”
These are the words chosen by Stefano Boeri, General Commissioner of the Triennale Milano, to open his introductory speech to the 2025 Exhibition, as reported in the visitor guide available in print at the museum and online. With this short sentence alone, the visitor can immediately find himself at the heart of the theme addressed by the exhibition, which aims to tackle the issue of diversity from every possible perspective.
This is because diversity is not only linked to the genes we inherit, but also to the family we grow up in, to our surroundings, or to the corner of the world we were born in. This means that, from the very first moment, we are shaped by differences and marked by inequality. Sometimes, these can become opportunities, other times constraints. They may serve as resources, as foundations of identity that evolve over time, or as chains that hold us back, bonds from which we must struggle to break free.
Through 10 exhibitions, 8 special projects, 20 international participations, installations, and events that share global visions, urgencies and perspectives, the 24th International Exhibition questions the challenges of the contemporary world related to the differences present in various spheres of existence: from economic to ethnic, from geographic origin to gender. Finally, the aim is to map such inequalities and identify the most advanced political projects for a society in which differences are a resource and a value to be recomposed into new forms of community.
To address such a broad and complex topic, the curators of the exhibition have gathered thoughts, ideas, and proposals, keeping two main directions: the “geopolitics of inequalities” and the “biopolitics of inequalities”. As a consequence, the ground floor of Triennale Milano hosts the reflections on the geopolitical dimension, referring mainly, but not only, to the new meaning that the two opposing terms of “wealth” and “poverty” have assumed today in the different spheres of urban life. The first floor, on the other hand, is devoted to the biopolitical implications of social, economic and gender inequalities, and in particular to the habits, lifestyles and expectations of life in contemporary societies.
The key exhibition that guides the visitor to the discovery of the “geopolitics of inequalities” theme, is certainly “Cities”, curated by Nina Bassoli. Indeed, for centuries cities have been places of opportunity, where distances are shortened and imbalances are reduced thanks to the dialogue and interaction between different realities. Nowadays, however, they are also the places where inequalities grow more rapidly and in an increasingly evident way. For this reason, the guiding question that led to the creation of the exhibition asks how urban-planning and architecture can restore a balance between inhabitants, cities and opportunities.
“Cities” is conceived as an atlas of places, themes, and projects from inhabited territories across the globe, brought together within an imagined geography. Its aim is to propose an alternative vision of development, one that departs from traditional economic and geopolitical analyses of inequality, in order to suggest unexpected pathways of growth. In this atmosphere, 35 site-specific installations, created by as many authors from over 30 nationalities, form a collective reflection on the evolving dialectic between wealth and poverty, society and community, ecology and cities, exploring the surprising ways in which these tensions manifest in our contemporary society.
One of the works included in this section of the 24th International Exhibition is the short film “The Book of Amos”, by Amos Gitai, which was shot in a single sequence on a street in Tel Aviv with actors coming both from Israel and Palestine. In the film, amid combat happening in the streets, the actors, all interpreting the role of the prophet Amos, perform original passages from the Book of Amos (8th Century B.C.E.) in Hebrew and Arabic, which seem to describe with absolute precision the hostilities that are still dramatically ongoing, representing the city as a theatre of conflict, both literal and metaphorical, and opening up to reflection on whether or not war is inevitable.
In order to organize such an important event, Triennale Milano can count on various partnerships with both public and private organisations. Among these is Bocconi University, which contributed to the theme of “geopolitics of inequalities” with the creation of the exhibition “Milan: Paradoxes and opportunities.“, aiming at highlighting how, in recent years, economic and social disparities in Milan have deepened, resulting in an increasingly fragmented urban fabric. A complex reality has emerged where opposing trends coexist, creating real paradoxes that affect the future of an ever-growing part of the population. Based on a detailed analysis of urban data conducted by the SI Lab at Bocconi, six major paradoxes that currently characterize Milan have been identified, each of them paired with an artist that was invited to reinterpret them. Finally, the project takes shape as a vast living and relational archive, a space for dialogue, collective creation, and continuous hybridization, conceived to spark reflection on Milan’s future in an inclusive, responsible, and courageous way.
At this point, it is necessary to say that with “Inequalities”, Triennale does not claim to have exhausted the subject, but seeks instead to offer food for thought and to propose possible viable solutions, together with reflections and ideas on the inequalities we inherit, those we encounter, and those we help shape throughout our lives. Inequalities that we sometimes endure, and other times succeed in transforming into advantages, offered to others as a gift, as added value in their lives.
Therefore, the only thing left to do is to gather your friends or family and visit the exhibition, which will remain open until 9 November 2025. The Triennale Milano headquarter is easily accessible, as it’s located in the city centre, within Parco Sempione, and it’s open all day from Tuesday to Sunday. Moreover, as if the above wasn’t enough, another reason not to miss the exhibition is that admission is free for students!
My name is Luca Buzzo, and I was born and raised in Genoa. When I was 18, after obtaining a scientific high school diploma, I decided to move to Milan to study at Bocconi University. Currently, I am pursuing a master's degree in Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media, and Entertainment (ACME). My interests span across multiple fields but the one I am most interested in are Visual arts, Culture and heritage, Museum studies, Asian studies (in particular China and Hong Kong), Social dynamics and Identity studies.
