An-Icon ERC project

08/09/2026

📣 New call for papers is out!
💀 Thanatomedia. Death, Mourning, and Technological Afterlives

The next issue of AN-ICON. Studies in Environmental Images explores how media shape our relationships with death, mourning, memory, and technological afterlives, from digital memorials, deadbots, and AI avatars to obsolete technologies and abandoned virtual worlds.

Edited by Pietro Conte, Maria Serafini, and Johanna Sumiala.

📅 Submission deadline: 31 January 2027
🔗 Read the full Call for Papers here: https://bit.ly/4yu6NWv

We welcome theoretical, historical, ethnographic, artistic, comparative, and practice-based contributions from a wide range of disciplines.

06/07/2026

📣 AICONIC has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept grant!

We are very happy to announce that AICONIC, a new project building on the research of AN-ICON and led by Andrea Pinotti, has received an ERC Proof of Concept grant.

Starting from AN-ICON’s work on immersive, environmental and post-medial images, AICONIC will address one of the most urgent challenges of contemporary visual culture: how to understand, interpret and critically engage with images generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence.

The project will develop an AI literacy programme for secondary schools, helping students and teachers recognise not only fake images and deepfakes, but also the technical, cultural and political processes behind AI-generated visual content.

AICONIC will be developed in collaboration with We School, AnotheReality, and the Museum of Philosophy of the University of Milan combining educational design and immersive technologies.

Through educational tools and immersive learning experiences, AICONIC will bring research on images, perception and visual culture into schools and civil society.

More soon.





unimi

15/11/2025

𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗: 𝗫𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦

Il programma di Filmmaker Expanded si arricchisce di due talk dedicati ai linguaggi e alle prospettive della realtà virtuale. Insieme agli autori e alle autrici scopriremo progetti in sviluppo e approfondiremo alcune delle opere esposte nella mostra “Archivi anarchici: politiche del display immersivo e immaginari del territorio”.

Un’occasione unica per immergersi nel processo creativo.

📍Presso Careof – accesso libero

17 novembre | 18:30
𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞 #𝟭 – 𝗫𝗥 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗟𝗼 𝘀𝘃𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗶 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗶
con Emilia Gozzano, Lucia Malerba, Niccolò Manzolini�Un confronto sui processi creativi e produttivi dell'XR, tra scrittura, tecnologia e visione.

21 novembre | 18:30
𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞 #𝟮 – 𝗫𝗥 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗹𝗶 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶
con Patricia Echeverría Liras e Christian Vium�Un dialogo sulle potenzialità della realtà virtuale come linguaggio di resistenza e nuova forma di racconto.

Scopri il programma qui https://bit.ly/4nWq5Ok

15/11/2025

𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗶 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗶: 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗼 𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗼

Per il quarto anno consecutivo, torna la collaborazione tra XR Lab (Centro di Ricerca Coordinata EXT – Extended Realities) e AN-ICON con il festival Filmmaker.
Filmmaker Expanded presenta la mostra VR “Archivi anarchici: politiche del display immersivo e immaginari del territorio”, a cura di Margherita Fontana e Valeria Polidoro.

Un percorso di opere immersive e interattive che esplorano il rapporto tra territorio, conflitto e rappresentazione.

🗓️ Dal 18 al 23 novembre

📍Presso Careof – accesso libero

mar-sab 14:00-19:00
dom 10:00-14:00

Scopri il programma qui https://bit.ly/4rgTqpQ

02/09/2025

⏳✨ 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 & 𝗖𝗔𝗩𝗘𝘀!

AN-ICON. Studies in Environmental Images has extended the submission deadline for the special issue “From Cave to CAVE”, edited by Michele Cometa and Margherita Fontana.

Don’t miss the chance to submit your work and join the exploration of immersivity across ages and media!

🗓️ New deadline: October 15, 2025

👉 Read the call and submit your paper here: https://bit.ly/4i1OWyf

📧 For any inquiry, margherita.fontana[at]unimi.it

08/04/2025

📘 Questa sera alle 18:00 alla Casa della Cultura di Milano per presentare Display: Luoghi Dispositivi Gesti di Elisabetta Modena

Intervengono: Roberto Diodato, Ruggero Eugeni, Andrea Pinotti

Martedì 8 aprile 2025 ore 18 in presenza e in diretta streaming su questa pagina e sul nostro canale YouTube
L'APPARIZIONE DELLE IMMAGINI
Sei libri raccontano la cultura visuale contemporanea
Ciclo di incontri a cura di Roberto Diodato e Ruggero Eugeni
2° incontro
Elisabetta Modena
Display: Luoghi Dispositivi Gesti
Intervengono: Roberto Diodato, Ruggero Eugeni, Andrea Pinotti

20/03/2025

𝗨𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗳𝗼 𝗲 𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗼: 𝟯𝟬 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗱𝗶 𝗠𝗔𝗖 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗼 𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼
MAC Museo Dino Formaggio, Teolo (PD)
21.03.2025 | h.17:00

Con l’occasione della ricorrenza dei 110 anni dalla nascita del filosofo, il Museo MAC Dino Formaggio di Teolo festeggia i suoi tre decenni di vita organizzando un momento di riflessioni pubblica coinvolgendo importanti intellettuali e studiosi che di Formaggio sono stati allievi.

In questa cornice, AN-ICON partecipa a un pomeriggio dedicato alla figura di Formaggio, al suo archivio attualmente conservato presso la Biblioteca di Filosofia e al progetto di valorizzazione in realtà aumentata "La filosofia dell'arte di Dino Formaggio: Nove lezioni in realtà aumentata", prodotto insieme a Bepart The Public Imagination Movement.

Più info qui: https://an-icon.unimi.it/calendars/un-filosofo-e-il-suo-museo-30-anni-di-mac-dino-formaggio-a-teolo/

19/03/2025

🔍 Deadline Extended! 🔥
More time to join the conversation on how virtual worlds shape desire and intimacy! AN-ICON. Studies in Environmental Images announces an extended submission deadline for the special issue "Virtual S*x: P*rnography, Immersion and Erotic Environments," edited by Ihsan Asman, Giovanna Maina, and Roberto P. Malaspina.

🗓️ New deadline: April 30, 2025

👉 Submit your paper here: https://bit.ly/41kx9wk

07/03/2025

𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲? 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆
Edited by Pietro Montani, and Andrea Pinotti

🗞️📯 The new issue of 𝘼𝙉-𝙄𝘾𝙊𝙉. 𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙀𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 is out!

The growing and spontaneous proliferation of mixed forms such as Augmented Reality and Immersive Extended Reality is associated with the emergence of new affordances and unprecedented modes of interactivity. It is game on: this issue of AN-ICON. Studies in Environmental Images intends to contribute to a more precise delimitation of the field, addressing the challenges posed by interactivity in various operational domains, both in artistic and non-artistic contexts.

With the contributions of: Agnese Cebere, Andrea D’Ammando, Roberto P. Malaspina, Laura Marcolini, Martina Pace, Sofia Pirandello, and Pier Cesare Rivoltella.

Discover the issue here: https://bit.ly/3Xwj38G

05/03/2025

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗔𝗩𝗘: 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗼𝗰𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗴𝗲
Curated by Michele Cometa, and Margherita Fontana

As imagined by Gene Youngblood’s Paleocybernetic Age, from the depths of painted caves to the immersive glow of VR headsets, the boundary between past and future collapses. AN-ICON. Studies in Environmental Images invites scholars, artists, and researchers to explore the intersections of prehistoric imagery and contemporary media. How do caves, both real and virtual, shape our understanding of image-making, immersion, and cultural heritage?

🌄 Submit your proposals here: https://bit.ly/4i1OWyf
📅 Deadline: September 1, 2025�
📩 More info at [email protected] and [email protected]

Img credits: frame from VR artwork "The Cave" (2022) by Adam Żądło and Jowita Guja. Courtesy the artists.