Milan Launches Public Art Office to Streamline Street Art Permits

The City of Milan has launched a new Public Art Office (Ufficio Arte negli Spazi Pubblici) to simplify the bureaucratic process for creating street art and public art. The office, part of the Culture Directorate, coordinates authorization procedures across departments. It provides a vademecum distinguishing artistic interventions, sponsor-supported works, and commercial muralism (which falls under the Advertising Office). The initiative also includes 100 'free walls' in 70 zones, identified since 2015, modeled after Turin's MurArte project (1999). The office is headed by Marina Pugliese, former director of Milan's modern and contemporary art museums (Museo del Novecento, GAM, Mudec). It aims to support a broader range of public art—installations, monuments, sound works, performances—and to create synergies with existing cultural systems, census existing works, and launch competitions. Culture Councillor Filippo Del Corno stated the office addresses growing demand for interventions, building on past measures like Cosap exemption for artistic murals. The office's creation aligns with the 'Milano 2020' pandemic-era document, which framed public art as a tool for quality of life, social cohesion, and local tourism.