1991
While in Biella for the opening of one of his exhibitions, Michelangelo Pistoletto spotted a white building—a disused factory—and decided to purchase it to give a place to what some considered a "non-place," that is, a utopia. By giving a place to utopia, Pistoletto not only negates it but makes it real, thus affirming a new project. The former Trombetta Wool Mill becomes the headquarters of the Association for a Pistoletto Foundation. Renovation work on the building begins.
1994
Pistoletto publishes the Progetto Arte Manifesto, in which he proposes a new role for the artist: to place art in direct interaction with all areas of human activity that shape society.
1998
Cittadellarte is inaugurated, a place where, from now on, the instances formulated in Progetto Arte will be developed. The structure and programs of Cittadellarte will evolve over the years, while its mission will remain constant: to inspire and produce responsible change in society through ideas and creative projects. • The 1st edition of Art at the Centre of a Responsible Social Transformation is organized, a program of exhibitions, meetings, seminars, and performances that brings together and sees the active and plural participation of scholars (such as Walter Santagata) and art critics, as well as actors from all sectors that make up civil society.
1999
UNIDEE - University of Ideas is born, marking the beginning of the international artistic residency program at Cittadellarte, which will continuously evolve over the years. The program is open to artists and professionals from around the world and aims to provide tools to “artivators,” meaning individuals working at the intersection of artistic practices, processes of social change, and collaborations with communities outside the art world. It weaves together moments of interdisciplinary research, knowledge exchange, and practical activities. The goal of the program is to provide participants with the inspiration, motivation, and tools to activate, develop, or strengthen artistic initiatives based on the engagement with local ecologies.
2000
Michelangelo Pistoletto and his wife Maria Pioppi, Paolo Naldini, who will be its director, and his wife Armona Pistoletto, move to Cittadellarte. Gradually, artists, curators, entrepreneurs, and philosophers from different countries around the world will join to work in various fields of activity, called Offices, where the structure of Cittadellarte will evolve.
2001
The Minimum Prize is established, an award given annually to those taking the first steps towards a responsible social transformation.
2003
Michelangelo Pistoletto conceives the sign-symbol of the Third Paradise, which is realized in the balanced connection between artifice and nature. "It is the great myth that leads everyone to take personal responsibility in the global vision." • Within Cittadellarte's Uffizio Politica, the cultural association Love Difference – Artistic Movement for an InterMediterranean Politics is created (a project first presented at the Venice Biennale of the same year), aimed at activating a cooperation network between institutions, artists, architects, and researchers from the individual countries of the Mediterranean region. The project begins with the work Tavolo Love Difference by Michelangelo Pistoletto (2003-2007). • Michelangelo Pistoletto & Cittadellarte & is presented, the first exhibition dedicated to Cittadellarte's activities at a museum institution, the MuHKA - Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp.
2004
The University of Turin awards Michelangelo Pistoletto an honorary degree in Political Sciences. On this occasion, the artist announces a new phase of his work, the Third Paradise project: this will become the main direction for both Pistoletto and Cittadellarte, leading a work that weaves a dense network of relationships and collaborations with numerous partners active in the most diverse sectors of society, making the Third Paradise a great collective and participatory work.
2005
The Third Paradise is presented at the 51st Venice Biennale through the exhibition "The Inner Island: Art of Survival," curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, during which events, meetings, and workshops are organized. Paolo Naldini develops relationships with the free culture and open source movements. Among others, Gilberto Gil participates both as a musician and as the Minister of Culture of Brazil. • The refreshment area inside Cittadellarte, previously open only to residents, opens its doors to the public, developing a creative and sustainable kitchen. • The project "Cubi in Movimento" is born, the embassy of the Biella and Piedmont territories, which creates basic modules of variable architectures, the heart of an installation that showcases the excellence of Biella and Piedmont in various regional, national, and international trade fairs and exhibitions. The cubes are both an exhibition tool for the typical local production and products themselves, creating new economic prospects for local craftsmanship.
2008
From the Architecture Office comes the N.O.V.A. Civitas Project - New Organisms of Living, which aims to promote sustainable culture in the architectural and environmental fields.
2009
Michelangelo Pistoletto, together with Franca Sozzani, creates Fashion B.E.S.T. with the goal of implementing the master's ideas on sustainability and social responsibility in the fashion sector. With the exhibition Cittadellarte Fashion B.E.S.T. (which stands for Bio Ethical Sustainable Trend), the eponymous platform and operational workshop dedicated to the development of bio-ethical sustainability in the textile and fashion industry is launched. Over the years, it will develop numerous projects and collaborations, including with the National Chamber of Italian Fashion and the United Nations. • The D_Art Lab project is developed, a creative laboratory aimed at designing, creating, and producing groundbreaking design objects, to promote a new entrepreneurial perspective focused on sustainability and responsible creativity.
2010
From the collaboration between Cittadellarte and the Zegna Foundation, Visible is launched, a research project dedicated to contemporary artistic practices directed towards the social sphere, curated by Matteo Lucchetti and Judith Wielander, with results periodically exhibited at Cittadellarte within the Arte al Centro program. • The Piramidi in Movimento project is born, the embassy of the Trentino region, a path of design and creation of an integrated modular system for presenting Trentino, its products, distinctive elements, and its craftsmanship, supported by the Italian Government – Ministry of Youth and the Municipality of Trento – Youth Policies. The project connects art and business, creativity and economy, present, past, and future, combining art and marketing, involving eight young Italian artists and eight young Trentino artisans.
2011
Alain Juppé, mayor of Bordeaux, invites Pistoletto and Cittadellarte to take on the artistic direction of EVENTO 2011, titled Lart pour une ré-évolution urbaine. During this event, artists and experts from various disciplines are invited to work on the relationship between art and citizenship through collective works and participatory projects. At the heart of these projects are the shared knowledge workshops, public space laboratories where artists of different nationalities collaborate with local associations, schools, and institutions.
2012
On December 21, 2012, the Rebirth-day takes place simultaneously in various locations and countries: the first global day of rebirth, celebrating the Third Paradise. Since 2012, Rebirth-day has become an annual event, generating numerous activities and a strong network of relationships, from which the Third Paradise Embassies arise to promote and develop the Third Paradise in local communities. • The 15th edition of Arte al Centro is held, particularly focusing on the relationship between art and urban transformation, and features various art projects, some of which are also presented in the Cittadellarte - Sharing Transformation exhibition, held simultaneously at the Kunsthaus in Graz. For the publication accompanying the event, Paolo Naldini writes an introductory text titled The Art of Demopraxia, in which he coins the term Demopraxia and begins a reflection on the relationship between art and democracy. • From the Cittadellarte Food Office, the Let Eat Bi project is born, focusing on sustainability in the agri-food sector and social inclusion.
2013
With the exhibition Année 1, Le Paradis sur Terre, the Louvre in Paris opens its doors to contemporary art, establishing the Symbol of the Third Paradise as a universal symbol.
2014
The installation of the Symbol of the Third Paradise is proposed at the European Council Palace in Brussels during the Italian Presidency Semester in 2014. • The creation of the Cittadellarte Coworking space. • Cittadellarte opens its doors for the first time to the Day of Art and Student Creativity, an event organized by the young students of the Biella Higher Education Consultative Committee. • The Let Eat Bi Association is established. • The collaboration with UNECE - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe begins. • UNIDEE in Residence radically rethinks its educational model through the conference Socially Engaged Art Practices and Education in Contemporary Discourse, a three-day event on themes related to artistic education practices for social transformation. This event led to the creation of a publication of the same name, which remains one of the most important contributions on art and education for social transformation. The project for a Higher Artistic Education School is born, which will become the Unidee Academy.
2015
Inauguration of the Third Paradise Headquarters located in the new spaces of Cittadellarte, a former industrial building on Via Cernaia, just a few hundred meters from the main headquarters on Via Serralunga, restored with the support of the Biellesi Committee for the Third Paradise. Inauguration of Rebirth, a permanent artwork placed in the United Nations Palace Park in Geneva, composed of 193 stones, one for each UN member country, arranged to form the symbol of the Third Paradise. • The First Rebirth Forum is held in Havana, titled Geographies of Transformation, a large art and politics workshop involving various organizations, businesses, associations, and institutions. • Inauguration of the Cultural Baths, an innovative experiential and immersive path through the exhibition spaces of Cittadellarte.
2017
Cittadellarte Journal is launched, the first web magazine of the Foundation. The Journal was previously an annual publication published by Cittadellarte to document its activities. • The Third Paradise becomes the symbol of the VITA space mission of the European and Italian space agencies, during which photos of Earth taken by astronaut Paolo Nespoli are shared through the SPAC3 app, creating a planetary collective artwork.
2018
At the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, the exhibition Da Cittadellarte alla Civiltà dell'Arte takes place, an artistic and narrative journey that leads to the understanding of the research developed by Pistoletto over more than 60 years of activity, from the first self-portraits at Cittadellarte to the Third Paradise. • At the Persano Gallery and the Former Pastiglie Leone Factory in Turin, the exhibition Comunicazione. Le porte di Cittadellarte di Pistoletto is held, the result of the collaboration between Cittadellarte and the exhibition space. • In Baku, Azerbaijan, Pistoletto's solo exhibition Do it is presented, proposed thanks to the collaboration between Cittadellarte and the non-profit art organization YARAT. The exhibition is centered around Pistoletto's 2003 manifesto The Third Paradise. • In the context of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the United Nations Headquarters in New York (during which Paolo Naldini, director of Cittadellarte, also participates), the exhibition Forest for Fashion - Fashion for Forests is set up, showcasing garments created by fashion designers Flavia La Rocca, Silvio Betterelli, and Silvia Giovanardi in the Cittadellarte Fashion B.E.S.T. workshops. • In Bali, in Uhud, the Rebirth Forum Sustainability through Differences and the exhibition The Great Archipelago, inspired by and dedicated to Michelangelo Pistoletto's eponymous work, are held. The Italian Cultural Institute of Berlin, the Italian Embassy, and Cittadellarte present the cultural event Fedika focused on Pistoletto: in the German capital, the exhibition Resonances and Reflections, a documentary screening dedicated to the master, thematic meetings, and a new permanent installation of the Third Paradise at the Italian Embassy in Berlin.
2019
At the Nanyang Technological University, a 41-meter installation of the Third Paradise is inaugurated on the curved green roof of the School of Art, Design, and Media at the University of Singapore. For the composition of the master's symbol-sign, the plant Red Sessile Joyweed, a local edible shrub also used in herbal teas, was used. • "Father and Son" is inaugurated: Biella and Trivero host the widespread exhibition project developed at Palazzo Gromo Losa, Cittadellarte, and Casa Zegna. The exhibition creates a dialogue between the art of Michelangelo Pistoletto and that of his father Ettore Olivero Pistoletto. • In Australia, the Rebirth Forum Melbourne is held: From Manifestation to Manifest Action, a two-day event organized by Independent Schools Victoria and Cittadellarte in collaboration with Project Zero - Harvard Graduate School of Education, dedicated to the creative practice of storytelling. • Art Market Budapest and Cittadellarte, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Budapest, organize the Rebirth Forum Budapest and the exhibition Michelangelo Pistoletto - Third Paradise.
2020
The first courses of the Unidee Academy begin, structured into two three-year programs (Visual Arts for Social Sustainability; Sustainable Fashion) and the Master's in Design, Creativity, and Social Practices, in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Milan. The Academy's courses integrate, in the educational field, the various activities carried out at Cittadellarte by Learning Environments and Civic Education, aimed at children and students of different age groups between 3 and 18 years old.
2021
The launch of the project Biella Città Arcipelago Demopratico, a permanent laboratory and exhibition dedicated to territorial planning aimed at sustainable prosperity and creativity. • The inauguration of the Universario, a permanent exhibition space and laboratory where Pistoletto presents his latest research and where the Unidee Academy lessons take place. • A three-day event is held in Biella, the first initiative of Arcipelago, Festival of Sustainable Creativity. The talks—held at Città Studi, the Auditorium of the Oropa Sanctuary, the Teatro Sociale Villani, and Cittadellarte—hosted over 100 international speakers and focused on a series of themes inspired by the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
2022
The book La Formula della Creazione by Michelangelo Pistoletto is published, edited by Cittadellarte. • At Cittadellarte, Public! is held, a research conference by the Unidee Academy of the Pistoletto Foundation, funded by the MiC (Ministry of Culture), which brings together artists, sociologists, philosophers, urban planners, designers, and economists to discuss how the public dimension functions in contemporary complexity. • A new installation of the Third Paradise is inaugurated at the Domus Laetitiae in Sagliano Micca. • After a demopractic approach with the community for its design, the Municipality of Candelo and Cittadellarte present the Nuovo Belvedere delle Mura del Ricetto.
2023
In Madrid, the 1st Rebirth Forum of Carabanchel, titled Responsible Urban Cartographies, focuses on art, sustainability, urban planning, and food. • Listening to the Voices of Nature on the Thread of Sustainable Fashion: the first edition of the Fashion For Planet Open Parliament takes place at Palazzo Giureconsulti in Milan, organized by the National Chamber of Italian Fashion and Cittadellarte as part of Milan Fashion Week. • In June, the monumental-scale Venus of the Rags is inaugurated in Piazza Municipio, Naples, as part of the project Open. Art in the Center, curated by Vincenzo Trione. In July, the work is destroyed by an arson attack. • The Rebirth Forum in Geneva is held: the Refettorio of rue de Lyon hosts the Demopractic Forum, which aims to discuss and highlight the political implications of the proposed food rights legislation and to support initiatives aimed at including food sovereignty in the Canton's constitution. • Michelangelo Pistoletto gives three artist lectures at the Louvre dedicated to his vision as an artist in relation to the history of the museum itself. • On the occasion of the 2030 Agenda midterm, a temporary installation of the Third Paradise, composed of 36 porcelain tiles and created through the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, is displayed at the UN headquarters in New York. • At the Castello di Rivoli, Molti di uno is inaugurated: the exhibition is structured through 29 interconnected Uffizi, each linked by a series of doors, with each door bearing an inscription on its lintel indicating a specific activity. The exhibition welcomes and reinterprets the master's art in a giant self-portrait that functions as the map of an ideal city of the future.
2024
The inauguration of the new Venere degli Stracci (Venus of the Rags) in Naples, donated by Michelangelo Pistoletto. • At the MOCAB – Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, Pistoletto's solo exhibition The Preventive Peace opens, aiming to offer an exploration of over sixty years of the artist's work, the founder of Cittadellarte. • The Italian Paralympic Committee entrusts Pistoletto with the creative design of Casa Italia for the Paris Paralympic Games. The master celebrates Paralympic athletes, revisiting some of his works inspired by the Paralympic movement and the slogan "Physique du rôle." • The new edition of Arte al Centro opens, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of UNIDEE Residency Programs (Ways of Becoming), with a rich program of exhibitions, talks, and workshops. On this occasion, Cittadellarte also hosts the UNESCO Round Table on Education for Preventive Peace, with the presentation, for the first time in Italy, of the new Recommendation on education for peace, human rights, and sustainable development. • T3rza Terra opens at Villa Manin, an exhibition project that places a series of works by Michelangelo Pistoletto in dialogue with works by eleven Italian and international artists in the villa. For the occasion, numerous collateral events were held, including a Rebirth Forum that put into practice the vision of the Demopratic Art work.
