BOVISA AL PLURALE: voices, spaces, stories

An open-air exhibition by RUFA Graphic Design students.

Bovisa is not just a neighbourhood; it is a living archive of Milan’s contradictions. This symbolic research project does not seek to “beautify” the outskirts to make them more attractive to the market, but instead chooses to courageously expose their wounds. Thirteen posters, displayed in the square by students from RUFA’s Exhibition Design course, tell the story of the area’s historical, social and architectural fractures: from its industrial past to the new invisible barriers between cultures, and the search for a third way based on common goods (the commons). “Bovisa Occupy” is an invitation to stop, look at the city’s scars and begin to give new meaning to public space together.

Coordinated by lecturers Enrico Parisio and Giuseppe Ragosta.

A project curated by RUFA Cinema students: a full 24-hour marathon, from morning to evening, to conceive, write, shoot and edit a short film in the heart of Bovisa. The creative process will be completely visible, bringing both writing and editing directly before the eyes of those who live in the neighbourhood.

The teams will work according to specific rules:
– the short films must be between 3 and 5 minutes long;
– at least one local resident or shopkeeper must be involved in a clearly recognisable role in the film;
– filming must take place exclusively within the boundaries of Bovisa;
– each group must visibly include a specific “prop” linked to the identity of the neighbourhood, assigned at the beginning of the day.

Coordinated by lecturers Amos Bianchi and Alessio Calabresi.

What happens when art steps down from its pedestal and takes over the street? In Piazza Schiavone, the answer will take shape through the “Contemporary Madonnari” public art workshop. Under the guidance of internationally renowned illustrator Fernando Cobelo, together with students from RUFA’s GD-Comics and Illustration course, the neighbourhood pavement will be transformed into a huge collective open-air canvas.

The initiative is designed to be radically accessible and inclusive: participation will be open to all children and young people from Bovisa. Together, armed with chalk and colour, participants will bring a shared and ephemeral work of art to life. A symbolic and powerful gesture: not a monument intended to last forever, but a temporary creation that lives in the very moment it is made, colouring the “wounds” of urban space and encouraging intergenerational dialogue. A return to the origins of street art, demonstrating that public space belongs to those who live in it, move through it and, even for just one day, bring colour to it.

Coordinated by lecturer Amos Bianchi.

The day will conclude in Piazza Schiavone with a large celebration dedicated to sharing and electronic music. From 18:00, “Open Play” will begin: an inclusive jam session followed by a DJ set, curated by students and alumni of the Saint Louis College of Music. But the academy will not simply play for the neighbourhood: it will play with the neighbourhood. In the weeks leading up to the event, a special selection process will be launched through the Saint Louis Instagram profile. Emerging producers, electronic musicians and DJs will have the opportunity to apply through social media to take to the stage and share the decks live with the school’s talents, breaking down barriers and transforming the square into a space of pure collective expression.

The project is carried out in collaboration with Bovisa Attiva, ANPI Sezione Bovisa “F. Severgnini“, and LA TENDA Multi-ethnic Cultural Centre.