Who are these 20-somethings? What shapes their worlds, and how do they see themselves within it? Across the event, students explored the textures of contemporary life with sincerity, navigating themes of identity, transition, belonging and disquiet. The goal was not to present polished answers but to offer something truer: a multifaceted portrait of youth, made with honesty and complexity.
From the surreal to the intimate, the projects spanned emotional and technical registers. Fragments of Becoming by Riccardo Vacca (IED Roma) used a mix of AI, visual anthropology and analogue photography to explore the liminal space between adolescence and adulthood. In Bianco Latte, Valentina Doddato (IED Milano) created a quiet reverie of memory, where nature and domestic space melt into a landscape of suspended time. Meanwhile, In Between by Sofia Valabrega (IED Torino) captured the stasis and uncertainty that defines so much of young adult life today: the longing to move forward, tempered by the fear of getting it wrong.
Curators and course coordinators Giulia Ticozzi (IED Torino), Carlotta Cattaneo (IED Milano) and Daria Scolamacchia (IED Roma) described the event as “a participatory performance” in which the table served as a stage, inviting physical movement, informal critique and shared reflection. The process was designed to empower students not just to show their work but to actively shape the space around it.
In doing so, The Dreamers became more than an exhibition. It evolved into a live archive, constantly reshaped by those who engaged with it. By placing vulnerability and agency at the centre, IED offered a vision of arts education that feels refreshingly grounded: creative, yes, but also responsive, participatory and deeply human.