The historic Milan Central Station, during the Design Week, becomes for the first time a public art space open to the entire city and its visitors, with the installation “La Nascita” (The Birth) by JR in Piazza Duca d’Aosta from today until May 1st and the immersive exhibition “An Invitation To Dream”, created by Moncler, from April 15th to 21st inside the station. Art will redefine the station’s environments in a novel way compared to the habits of those who are used to experiencing it, rewriting its spatiality and embedding it even more into the emotional map composed of Milan’s liveliest places, making it the protagonist of a stimulating experience and a broader dialogue, including between the place’s past and present.

This is one of the narrative threads of JR’s artwork; the installation indeed recalls the historical origin of the station, built following the opening of the Sempione Tunnel in 1906, the monumental engineering feat that marked the beginning of the era of large train journeys from Milan. In this case, too, JR opens the station’s facade with a tear, using a technique never used before: the image was indeed printed directly on aluminum panels, without using paper and glue. In addition to facing the facade, these metallic elements are scattered around the square, allowing spectators to enter and interact with the artwork. The result is a surreal architectural fantasy that blurs the boundaries of time and place.

Inside, Moncler explores the theme of dreams. “An Invitation To Dream” presents the project curated by Jefferson Hack, filmed and photographed by Jack Davison, which encourages us to dream like some of the leading figures in the contemporary international cultural scene, including Daniel Arsham, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Isamaya Ffrench, Laila Gohar, Jeremy O. Harris, Francesca Hayward, Julianknxx, Ruth Rogers, Remo Ruffini, Rina Sawayama, Sumayya Vally, and Zaya. All billboards and advertising screens in the station will therefore be connected to create a virtual landscape animated by images and quotes, where texts and portraits will blend with the station’s noise as silent but constant invocations. Dreams and journeys, after all, have always been interconnected themes.