“Culture must be relevant, not just visible”: Carla Morogallo reflects on Triennale Milano’s 2025

This article was previously published on Domus 1107, December 2025.

“We’ve now achieved the most interesting goal. The Triennale is no longer just a visible institution, but a relevant one. And those are two very different things.” Carla Morogallo, general manager of Triennale Milano, speaks with a special sparkle in her eyes – the light of Calabria, where she was born 44 years ago. “I look at my native region from afar, but with affection. I come from Gioia Tauro, a town dear to my heart, even if it hasn’t spared me some suffering.” She started at the Triennale as an intern after graduating in cultural heritage management in Pisa, and in almost 20 years she has climbed the ladder to reach her current position, appointed by Stefano Boeri. Petite but energetic, she is the other executive face of an institution that has reached a real turning point. We met her at Cucina Triennale, the new restaurant on the Park Floor, which was originally designed by Giovanni Muzio and has received as much cognitive investment from the top management as economic resources. 

“The last year has been a milestone for Triennale Milano. The institution has fulfilled a vision years in the making, intertwining various disciplines and rethinking the building’s traditional codes, starting with its architectural design. The development plan led to the creation of the Voce space, which was designed by Muzio but sold off and given an autonomous function. Today, it once again belongs to the Triennale and is an expression of innovation, with a focus on sound design to broaden the range of cultural disciplines. Meanwhile, the International Exhibition addressed politically and socially compelling issues, demonstrating the institution’s courage to tackle complex contemporary topics.” 

Carla Morogallo, general director of Triennale Milano

This brings us back to the key objective of staying relevant. The Triennale has gone from being tied to its historical character to becoming a globally recognised cultural brand. “We’ve transitioned from a cultural institution to a creative enterprise. International credibility has grown with exhibitions such as the one on Enzo Mari or ‘Italian Painting Today’, which debuted here and then travelled around the world.” The growth is reflected in the figures: turnover has risen from 13 million euros in 2018 to 21 million in 2024, with 55 per cent coming from private management and 45 per cent from public funds. “It’s a significant reversal of proportions. In six years, the economic gaps have been filled and assets have risen from 5 million to 11 million euros. The Triennale has learned to generate its own resources while remaining faithful to its cultural mission.”

However, the system still has its contradictions: public cultural institutions cannot generate profits. “It’s a paradox,” she explains. “We’re asked not to make a profit to avoid punitive rules. Instead, we should be a model of development.”

The biggest obstacles have been administrative and legal. “Our statute was last revised in 2018, but now it’s out of touch with the Triennale’s operational set-up. The conventional acts governing relations with major public partners are outdated and need profound structural intervention.

In this light, Morogallo’s bottom-up career path has been instrumental. “I was lucky to have been here for 20 years before accepting the general managership, so I was familiar with the organisation and its transformations.” The first proving ground was the cultural mediation project launched with Expo 2015, with new museum figures assigned to welcoming and engaging with visitors. A crucial element of her management is the introduction of the first strategic plan in the Triennale’s history. “It shows that renewal isn’t incidental but part of a coherent vision. It’s a real change of pace, where speed has become a distinctive feature, in contrast to the typical sluggishness of institutions.”

Carla Morogallo

Another key principle is the distinction between curatorial and managerial direction. “The general manager isn’t a curator. It’s a structural mistake to confuse those roles.” As in large international studios, there must be a distinction between complementary skills. “Our governance is complex. We have three boards of directors with separate budgets, and the general manager is the common denominator. It requires management skills that don’t coincide with curatorial ones.” As Gian Arturo Ferrari remarked, culture is a mix where spirit is needed to make substance and substance is needed to make spirit. “A cultural project that does not produce resources and lives only on subsidies becomes something else. We aim to ensure creative freedom by generating adequate revenues, harmoniously combining cultural interest and managerial development.” The transformation is also visible in recently inaugurated spaces such as Gioco, dedicated to children, which welcomes new audiences and recounts another piece of the Triennale’s evolution. “Each space is conceived for different targets and moments. It’s not just about adding places, but enhancing established identities. The Teatro dell’Arte has become the heart around which new opportunities revolve. Every element has to support the others in a kind of cultural diplomacy that coordinates different languages. We mustn’t be afraid to combine scientific depth and cultural entertainment. Elitism isn’t an option.”

Morogallo also reflects on the role of cultural venues: “We need to encourage the public to consider culture as part of everyday life. It isn’t just a matter of bringing culture to the suburbs, but of making cultural locations places of psychological well-being to be visited every day. The issue of being self-referential is overcome with language and content.” Museums are not “cultural deposits” but generators of meaning. As Philippe Daverio said, we should go and look at a painting every day during our lunch break: the painting changes, and we change too. Morogallo’s realism surfaces with our post-lunch espresso: “Now we need to consolidate our work and strengthen our cultural identity. We want the Triennale brand to be a guarantee of quality and comprehensibility. It’s a case study – a cultural institution that has become a creative enterprise with scientific integrity, economic sustainability and operational freedom. Regulatory intervention is still needed, but the direction is mapped out: culture must be relevant, not just visible, combining spirit, substance, content, management, freedom and responsibility.” 

In times of political and social crisis, the Triennale is a model of creative and managerial competence, showing how culture can make a real contribution to democracy: producing indexes of meaning, questioning and surprising power instead of reassuring it.

Opening image: The Milan Triennale © Triennale Milano. Photo Gianluca Di Ioia