We Mediterranean at Drop City in Milan – All photos by Riccardo De Vecchi, courtesy of We Mediterranean.

Design—Can design and architecture be the media allowing Mediterranean people to build dialogue and cultural exchange? Curator Paola Carimati together with Matilde Cassani Studio, Francesca Lanzavecchia, Studio Ossidiana, Sex & The City, and Piovenefabi presented We Mediterranean, a travelling design project and platform for honest debate on some of the most pressing issues across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from migration and the Middle Eastern crisis.

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“We Mediterranean is an open migratory initiative with a disruptive message amid the big buzz of Milan Design Week.” Paola Carimati told Archipanic. “Like a body, it migrates along Mediterranean shores. Where we coast, we’ll provide solace to the people we encounter. The project’s mission is to map new functions and new ways of living, inhabiting and co-habiting together.”

Milan is the first stop of a cross-cultural journey. “Our migration will continue in Lebanon for the We Design Beirut festival; we’ll then sail to Marseille, Barcelona, Tunis, El Cairo, and Istanbul.” At each stop, We Mediterranean collaborates with local designers. “We’ll work with different communities, adding hands, beauty and care to this nomadic space. The next year, we aim to shore on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which was appointed Italy’s Capital of Culture in 2025.”

“Like migratory architecture, the setting is done with frugal, limited resources.” At Drop City, under the vaults of the Central Station, the welcoming essential installation recalls nomadic camps. At the centre is a metal structure draped with textiles crafted by the women of the Beirut-based female-empowering Ajialouna NGO. Studio Ossidiana created a four-metre-tall pigeon house to symbolise peace and hospitality. Works by Matilde Cassani Studio, Francesca Lanzavecchia, Sex & The City, and Piovenefabi are also on display.

We Mediterranean staged a rich program of diverse events, thought-provoking talks, DJ sets, poetry readings and dance performances, bringing together a multitude of ideas and perspectives and fostering a vibrant cultural exchange. Among the guests were Cecilia Strada, activist and former president of Emergency NGO, and Arnaud Zohin, a twenty-year-old migrant from Ivory Coast who inspired Matteo Garrone’s Academy Award-nominated movie Io Capitano.

All photos by Riccardo De Vecchi, courtesy of We Mediterranean.