Milan's Darsena installation criticized for kitsch depiction of migrant tragedy

An installation in Milan's Darsena commemorates the tenth anniversary of the October 3, 2013 shipwreck off Lampedusa, where 368 migrants died. The work, installed from September 30 to October 8, 2023, features an overturned boat hull, 368 chrysanthemums, and arms emerging from the water. It was commissioned by Milan's Municipio 6, led by Santo Minniti, to mark the National Day in Memory of Victims of Immigration, established in 2016. The installation is criticized as didactic, kitsch, and lacking conceptual power, failing to stimulate reflection. Produced by Kineticvibe, it involves artist Emiliano Rubinacci, art director Beppe "Treccia" Iavicoli, designer Matteo Rossi, and calligrapher Giuseppe Gep Caserta. Rubinacci, born in Buenos Aires in 1979, graduated in sculpture from Accademia di Brera and has limited exhibition history. The article questions the selection process and argues that political decision-makers often fail to engage with art as a force that avoids easy solutions for consensus.