MEET, Milan's New Digital Culture Center, Opens in Former Cinema Oberdan

MEET, the first international center for digital culture, has opened in Milan's Porta Venezia district at Piazza Oberdan. Supported by Fondazione Cariplo, which owns the building, the center occupies 1,500 square meters over three floors of an early 20th-century building at via Vittorio Veneto 2. The renovation, led by architect Carlo Ratti and his studio, features a concept by Artemide and a central Living Staircase connecting all levels. The Theater, formerly Cinema Oberdan, seats 200 with chairs from the same manufacturer as La Fenice and La Scala, equipped with 15 4K projectors for 270-degree projections. Programming will split between MEET activities until 4 PM and Cineteca Milano evening screenings. A Bistrot by Mare culturale urbano with Food Balls concept by Martí Guixé and design by Italo Rota will open when COVID restrictions allow. The inaugural exhibition features Turkish artist Refik Anadol's "Renaissance Dreams," an immersive digital work using open-source Renaissance images, on view until January 10, 2021. President Maria Grazia Mattei, a digital culture expert since the 1980s, conceived the center. Fondazione Cariplo President Giovanni Fosti emphasized the role of digital connection in cultural innovation.