cheFare is committed to transforming society through culture by creating new generative connections between institutions, organizations, and territories.
It collaborates with cultural centers, libraries, museums, and archives to stimulate dialogue with society, fostering democratic access to culture and supporting local organizations in strengthening their capacities, seeking funding, and enhancing their work.
Together with artists, writers, designers, and cultural operators, it designs cultural interventions, with particular attention to territorial relationships, participatory processes, and frontier themes and languages. With public administrations and funding bodies, cheFare develops support pathways to assist local organizations, tools to identify the cultural energies of territories, and strategic plans to harmonize them.

The focus is always on building transversal skills and cultural design, enhancing active community participation, and producing culture as a driver of innovation rooted in territorial specificities.

Identifying specific needs, involving expanded stakeholder groups, and redefining the cultural positioning of organizations—all aimed at creating measurable and lasting impacts.

cheFare supports organizations in strengthening their capacity for evolution, growth, and impactful action. It does so through empowerment processes in which individual autonomy and cohesion mutually reinforce each other so that decisions, responsibilities, and rules emerge from a relational, conscious, and co-constructed fabric. 

For cheFare, organizational empowerment is based on creating contexts where choices and rules are conscious and shared, responsibilities are distributed, work is clearly structured, and everyone’s contribution is valued. Work methods and processes are always central, serving as scalable and replicable tools.

Working on governance systems, roles, and capacities is an act of cultural transformation. It’s about creating conditions for dynamic adaptation to changing contexts, integrating innovation and sustainability with a long-term perspective. 

The goal is to make organizations autonomous, capable of adapting, innovating models, and navigating the complex environments in which they operate. In this framework, organizations become agents of change—able to translate complexity into generative strategies.

cheFare works to promote a free, open, rooted, and democratic society.

It focuses its activities on empowerment and capacity building—providing project beneficiaries with the tools and resources needed to act autonomously and face complexity.

For cheFare, empowerment means facilitating the emergence of individual and collective capacities through culture as a developmental element.

It starts from the assumption that people and groups already possess capacities and resources. cheFare’s role is to remove the obstacles preventing their emergence. To do this, it's necessary to bring order, recognize resources, share or create common languages, understand contexts, manage conflicts, and develop listening and observation skills.

With the spread of digital media, the communication landscape has become complex and multifaceted. On one hand, this has opened up vast opportunities for audience interaction and engagement; on the other, it has introduced a new challenge: the sheer volume of information, which often saturates users’ attention spans.

Organizations must not only tell their story, but do so in a way that withstands the fragmentation that characterizes today’s communication flows.

Narration, therefore, is not just storytelling—it is a strategic construction that must be calibrated both to the content itself and to the context in which that content is published. Stakeholders are no longer passive recipients, but active participants in a communication ecosystem where building and maintaining relationships becomes essential.

For cheFare, telling stories is not merely a way to convey values and objectives—it is a lever for creating an ongoing dialogue that acknowledges and enhances the complexity of actions and impacts. In this way, practices and stories can make a substantial contribution to ongoing cultural transformations, rather than serving as static portraits of them.

cheFare develops cultural projects together with major international institutions, small local organizations, public administrations, and publishing houses:
artist, designer, and writer residencies; participatory artworks; collaborative magazines and publications; live performances and events.

cheFare’s cultural project design aims to facilitate the act of speaking out and to stimulate transformative imagination, building interdisciplinary bridges between different perspectives and languages.

cheFare develops strategic support pathways with cultural and social organizations: public administrations, museums, libraries, associations, cooperatives, cultural enterprises, and foundations.

Strategic support is a structured process that retraces an organization’s past, captures its present, and builds navigation tools to help it become strong—and remain so—in the years to come.

Each strategic support process is different because it is built around the organization we work with: its history, its values, the knowledge and skills it embodies, and its aspirations for transformation—of itself and of the world.

cheFare facilitates the planning, production, and management of cultural and social initiatives, with the aim of activating and circulating the collective intelligence of territories.
It does so through structured co-design processes that draw on knowledge and techniques from curatorship, economics and organizational studies, sociology, and many other disciplines.

These are projects developed with communities, focusing on territorial change, inequalities, active participation, and organizational transformation.
The primary goal is to help residents and organizations equip themselves with the tools and skills to speak out, influence public agendas, and give economic and social sustainability to their visions.

To create culture, you need to study and experiment.
That’s why cheFare organizes training courses, labs, and workshops focused on cultural project design:
on project analysis and writing; funding systems, economic sustainability, and work organization; relationships with audiences and scenes; experimenting with languages and managing communication channels.

cheFare has always connected theory and practice because, for us, knowledge is the engine of transforming the world.

cheFare conducts qualitative and quantitative research on emerging phenomena in the fields of culture and social sectors to gather firsthand data.
This is done through online and offline surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews.
It also processes data collected from cultural funding calls, second-level networks, and institutions: targeted analyses that provide a broad overview to identify new areas of intervention and territorial policies.
The outcome of this work is the production of research reports designed for diverse audiences, from institutional leadership to the general public.

cheFare is also involved in third mission projects and communication of research carried out by universities and institutions, using three methodologies.
The first is the editorial production of texts that address the complexity of results without oversimplifying them, making them accessible to wider audiences.
The second is the organization of live events that experiment with new formats and languages.
The third is the development of integrated communication strategies and pathways across the web and social media.

cheFare designs and implements communication projects and campaigns for social and cultural initiatives.
This always starts with a deep listening to needs and a clear identification of objectives, with constant attention to balancing digital and onlife experiences.
It identifies audiences, amplifies resonance and reach, and expands networks and possible alliances to increase the effectiveness and impact of cultural pathways and projects.

cheFare publishes books, magazines, article series, and podcasts that explore key aspects of the cultural debate.
It works on storytelling paths, photographic and narrative reports, and participatory stories that map places and histories, bringing to light the underrepresented cultural heritage of territories.
It also leads cultural debates on themes of cultural transformation, together with a network of hundreds of researchers, artists, policymakers, and writers, in partnership with publishing houses and cultural institutions.

cheFare designs and produces live events with writers, artists, researchers, activists, and policymakers.
The formats used are constantly evolving, as each time we interpret the meaning of places and audiences: festivals, roundtables, traveling series, book presentations, lectures at universities and cultural centers.
From small seminars in villages to major initiatives at leading cultural institutions, the goal of cheFare’s events is always to connect worlds, translate knowledge, and open up possibilities.

Nieuwe Instituut and cheFare – in collaboration with the Embassy and Consulate General of the Netherlands in Italy – present the first residency program designed to rethink the social and environmental impact of design events on their host cities. 

Design weeks are key events where designers, companies, and visitors meet to share ideas, skills, and ambitions. However, their contribution to local pollution, rising living costs, housing crises, social inequalities, and overtourism makes the current design week model unsustainable.

In response to these critical issues, cheFare and Nieuwe Instituut present Redesigning Design Weeks, a multi-year residency program that invites designers from the Netherlands to critically examine the sustainability challenges posed by design weeks while rethinking existing practices. The program is promoted by the Embassy and Consulate General of the Netherlands in Italy.

Starting with Milan Design Week, the initiative also links to other Nieuwe Instituut projects, such as The New Store and Redesigning the Designer: all programs aimed at questioning established events and behaviors to concretely test possible alternatives.

Curated by Collective Works studio, the first edition of the program is titled Civicity. Designers Pete Fung and Studio-Method (Riel Bessai and Pedro Daniel Pantaleone) have been invited to experience Milan’s urban, social, environmental, and cultural contexts firsthand for two months. Together with a group of Milanese stakeholders  and communities, the designers-in-residence will explore how to make design weeks more sustainable.

Journalist Nuria Ribas Costa has documented the project, offering critical reflections and outlining potential future scenarios. The designers have developed site-specific design strategies aiming to question, reinvent, and address the impact of Milan Design Week on urgent urban issues. They have been worked across two locations in Milan, each characterised by distinct features and challenges: Fung has been based at Terzo Paesaggio, a cultural organisation in Chiaravalle district, while Studio-Method has worked with Magnete, a cultural center and community hub in the Adriano neighborhood.

Nieuwe Instituut and cheFare – in collaboration with the Embassy and Consulate General of the Netherlands in Italy and with the support of Fondazione di Comunità Milano – present the second residency dedicated to rethinking the social and environmental impact of design events on their host cities.

Design weeks are complex urban mechanisms, capable of concentrating creative capital, investment, media attention, and international flows within a few days. They activate professional networks, consolidate reputations, and steer markets. At the same time, they produce collateral effects on the territory: intensive resource consumption, massive production of ephemeral installations, temporary and structural hikes in short-term rentals, and polarisation between hyper-visible central areas and marginalised neighborhoods.

In response to these critical issues, cheFare and Nieuwe Instituut present the second edition of Redesigning Design Weeks, a multi-year residency program that invites Netherlands-based designers to critically examine the environmental, social, and spatial implications of design weeks while rethinking their practices and formats. The program is promoted by the Embassy and Consulate General of the Netherlands in Italy and takes Milan as a primary case study, given the central role of Milan Design Week on the international stage.

Within this framework, Civicity 2026 takes shape as the second edition of the journey started in 2025. As with the previous edition,  residency is curated by Collective Works and involves two designers selected via open call: Demo–practice and Ned Kaar. For two months, the designers will live and work in Milan, developing site-specific interventions capable of questioning the systemic impact of the design week on the city and activating alliances with local communities.

Demo–practice, a collective founded by Alessandra Pandolfi and Phoebe Hotopf, focuses its research on civic life as a design infrastructure, investigating the relationships between governance, collective rights, and access to public space. Ned Kaar, an Irish designer active in the Netherlands, explores value in design, the conditions of cultural labour, and gift economies as alternatives to dominant transactional models. Their practices converge in treating design as a tool for mediation, capable of making complex systems legible and transforming participation into a conscious act of design.

The residency is rooted in two Milanese contexts facing social and spatial challenges. In the Barona district, the designers will collaborate with Barrio's, a socio-cultural center active since 1997 in preventing educational poverty and promoting inclusion. In Niguarda, they will work with Fondazione Abitiamo, an organisation committed to the care of shared spaces and the strengthening of neighborhood relations. In both cases, the design week becomes an opportunity to question the relationship between global events and local civic infrastructures.

This edition will be launched  during Milan Design Week 2026, alongside the final outcomes of the 2025 residents, Pete Fung and Studio-Method. In 2027, Demo–practice and Ned Kaar will present the final conclusions of their research, consolidating a path that intertwines critical reflection and concrete action. Civicity 2026 thus frames the design week as a field of tension in which to experiment with models that are more equitable, inclusive, and future-ready.

The development of cultural planning and strategic support for three sites located between Brescia and Bergamo. 

Cultural sites are currently facing entirely new pressures and inputs. On one hand, they are required to find unprecedented ways to integrate with regional development plans, balancing economic and social sustainability, the adaptive reuse of abandoned structures, the enhancement of cultural heritage, and synergies with social activities. On the other hand, they are under increasing pressure from phenomena such as the depopulation of inland areas, mobility crises, and overtourism.

To address the questions arising from these transformations, Fondazione Cariplo, in collaboration with Fondazione Housing Sociale, has established BeiLuoghi, a competence center dedicated to culture-led urban regeneration in Lombardy.

As an exchange platform for public entities and the third sector, BeiLuoghi supports the implementation of local, sustainable, and integrated cultural projects by promoting the creation and dissemination of specialised expertise. Through a call for projects, BeiLuoghi selected 6 initiatives, entrusting their development to various organisations specialising in different strategic areas.

cheFare designed and managed the support for 3 projects that specifically required the development of their cultural programming and positioning: MIR.Art.SOLE, the redevelopment of a former Art Nouveau hotel in the center of Dossena (BG) for art and nature projects; the creation of the Archaeological and Fossil Museum of Zogno (BG); and the functional repurposing of a section of the Padernello (BS) Castle for artistic activities.

The BeiLuoghi initiative was introduced by a series of meetings on these themes at Triennale Milano, during which Bertram Niessen, Scientific Director of cheFare, engaged in a dialogue with Pablo Sendra (Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, co-author of Designing Disorder with Richard Sennett).

The second edition of BeiLuoghi has been launched in 2025 – the Competence Center dedicated to culture-led urban regeneration processes, promoted by Fondazione Cariplo in collaboration with Fondazione Housing Sociale. 

BeiLuoghi was established as a platform for exchange and skills development, designed to support urban regeneration practices that utilize culture as a lever for territorial transformation.

The Center promotes the activation of culture-led urban regeneration processes by offering methodological and technical support to the stakeholders involved. The goal is to foster the production and dissemination of specialised knowledge and to assist Third Sector and public entities in building solid project proposals that are consistent with local contexts and sustainable in the medium and long term.

cheFare has designed and managed the strategic support for 6 projects within BeiLuoghi framework that require specific development in cultural planning. This activity involves six territorial regeneration interventions promoted by public bodies and Third Sector organisations across Lombardy and Piedmont.

Among these, Una casa per le memorie (A House for Memories), promoted by Fondazione Cicogna Rampana ETS, involves the regeneration of Villa Damioli in Palazzolo sull'Oglio. In Gavardo, the project Flussi di cultura lungo il Chiese (Cultural Flows along the Chiese), promoted by the Municipality of Gavardo, intervenes in the historic center through the redevelopment of Parco dell’Isolo and the Caligola building. The PPPR – Percorso Partecipativo al Parco Rodari (Rodari Park Participatory Path), promoted by the Fondazione Parco delle Arti e della Cultura di Omegna, focuses on transforming the outdoor area of the Gianni Rodari Fantasy Park into an edutainment space. Risalire la corrente (Going Upstream), promoted by Parco Adda Nord, aims to enhance the historic buildings of the Conche and the Stallazzo along the Naviglio di Paderno. In Cremona, the project Passaggio al centro (Passage to the Center), promoted by the Municipality of Cremona, involves the regeneration of the Parco del Vecchio Passeggio and Palazzina Sozzi. Finally, I “promessi spazi” (The Promised Spaces), promoted by the Municipality of Tremezzina, intends to create a social space for young people oriented toward the knowledge economy.

A public art journey in the outskirts of Milan: the curation and production of 2 works created by Dutch artist Kevin van Braak in collaboration with hundreds of residents and dozens of organisations. 

For a long time, Adriano district remained isolated from the city's cultural life, difficult to reach and far removed from cultural offerings primarily aimed at those living closer to the center.

Civic Media Art is a participatory public art project curated by cheFare, which engaged hundreds of residents in Milan's Adriano neighborhood from September 2017 to April 2018 through works created by Dutch artist Kevin van Braak.

Two public artworks were produced thanks to the active participation of local residents, cultural practitioners, associations, organizations, and institutions. The process unfolded through more than 20 participatory events involving neighborhood residents and the rest of the city: lessons for art academy students, neighborhood walks, festivals, and concerts in senior centers and youth clubs, events in local venues and social circles, community dinners, lectures, and workshops. Over the course of the project, more than 500 people were involved, with levels of engagement ranging from brief exchanges and interactions to full-scale co-productions. The project was curated by Lucrezia Cippitelli and Bertram Niessen.

The first work created is the installation Adriano a Cielo Aperto (Open-Air Adriano): set up between February and April 2017, it consists of more than 45 banners hung from balconies and building facades throughout the neighborhood. These banners feature phrases that emerged from exchanges between writer Ivan Carozzi and the residents who chose to participate. The work’s presence invites passersby to look up and alter their usual daily routes.

The second work is Reminiscences/Reminiscenze: consisting of three panels depicting three cities profoundly changed by war, shown as they were before being bombed. These panels were collectively created by everyone who participated in a day-long performance organized in the neighborhood on April 14, 2018.

The three pieces were subsequently taken into the care of three social and cultural landmarks in the district: Casa della Carità on via Brambilla, the R. Cerizza social club, and Cargo & High Tech, where they are still on display.

Civic Media Art is an international public art journey part of the Lacittàintorno program by Fondazione Cariplo. It was realized with the support of the Foundation, the Embassy and Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Italy, and the Mondriaan Fonds, as well as publishing houses Bao Publishing, Il Saggiatore, Iperborea, Minimum Fax, and NN Editore; the organic farming brand Alce Nero; and the Italian Institute of Photography.

Contributors to Civic Media Art: Kevin van Braak – Artist and cultural activist; Ivan Carozzi – Writer; Lucrezia Cippitelli – Curator (cheFare); Bertram Niessen – Curator (cheFare); Marilù Manta – Project manager; Erika Sartori – Production manager

A project to digitize and enhance an archive that brings together over 180 years of history through documents, publications, photographs, paintings, and educational tools. 

The Istituto dei Ciechi di Milano (Milan Institute for the Blind) is a historic institution dedicated to the full educational, professional, social, and cultural integration of the blind, the visually impaired, and those with multiple visual disabilities. Throughout its history, the Institute has built a vast archive comprising documents, publications, photographs, portraits, and a wide array of educational instruments.

Today, the archive of the Istituto dei Ciechi represents an extraordinary heritage threatened by the typical risks facing documentary archives: the natural deterioration of physical materials and a lack of tools and practices to unlock the value of this collection. Between 2019 and 2022, cheFare — in collaboration with Wikimedia Italia and with the support of Calibro design studio, the Archivio di Stato di Milano (State Archives of Milan), and the ICAS digitization laboratory — developed Archivio Meraviglioso (Wonderful Archive), a project for the digitization and promotion of the archive. The project was funded through the Luoghi di Innovazione Culturale (Places of Cultural Innovation) grant by Fondazione Cariplo.

Following a comprehensive mapping of the archive's contents (facilitated by both in-person and online training sessions among experts across various disciplines), a significant portion of the archive was digitized and uploaded under an open license to public platforms, aided by communities of open-knowledge activists. In parallel, an editorial outreach plan for the Archivio Meraviglioso project was developed to engage new communities of archivists, scholars, and readers interested in the topics covered in the articles and in Voci d’Archivio (Archive Voices), a series of six podcasts produced by Andrea Daniele Signorelli.

The project’s final destination is the Archivio Meraviglioso website, which allows users to navigate the Institute's repertoire through interactive infographics, while also offering the opportunity to read, view, and listen to thematic pathways created alongside writers, journalists, artists, and photographers.

A program designed to bring to life the ideas of young people aged 14 to 35 by providing mentorship, training, financial grants, and physical spaces, supported by the Comune di Milano (Municipality of Milan). 

During the pandemic, young people were asked to renounce their social lives and their presence in public spaces to protect the most vulnerable and the elderly. This occurred during a life stage where socialization with peers and self-assertion within the community are fundamental steps for personal growth.

With the reopening of schools and the resumption of social activities, two opposing trends have emerged strongly in Milan. On one hand, there has been an exponential increase in social anxiety and a degree of social withdrawal: according to ISTAT (the Italian National Institute of Statistics), in the post-pandemic period, 50.5% of secondary school students reported a significant reduction in time spent with friends (ISTAT, 2022). On the other hand, there is a renewed presence of youth groups that traditional gathering places find increasingly difficult to engage positively compared to the past.

The Comune di Milano has launched an innovative strategy through the Direzione di Progetto Promozione Giovanile e Transizione Scuola-Lavoro (Youth Promotion and School-to-Work Transition Project Department), focused on youth participation. 100 idee (100 Ideas) was created to foster youth activation and empowerment, supporting young men and women—with a particular focus on contexts characterized by educational poverty—in realizing their own ideas. The goal is to create an urban ecosystem that reflects the diversity of voices, vocations, and identities of the city's youth.

The program targets groups of young people aged 14 to 35 active in Milan and includes a public notice, a call to map mentors and spaces, and two "calls for ideas" to collect proposals: one dedicated to the 14–18 age group and another for the 18–35 age group. Furthermore, it provides a dedicated mentorship path and a financial contribution to offer concrete support to the groups in implementing their projects.

For the 100 idee program, cheFare is responsible for communication and dissemination activities. These activities support local community engagement and the promotion of the calls through the production of specific information materials. These materials have been developed in collaboration with partner organizations that possess specialized expertise and have worked alongside the relevant communities for years.

Furthermore, cheFare curates the overarching narrative for the entire programme, guiding four Milanese editorial teams in the production of storytelling episodes that reflect the diverse range of voices involved. Beyond defining the narrative strategy and editorial calendar, the organisation provides comprehensive production oversight, managing task assignments and the editing of all contributions developed by the participating editorial teams.

A program designed to engage young people and narrate the complexity of the Derive e Approdi (Drifts and Landings) project, which works to combat human trafficking and provide protection to victims of exploitation.

Città Metropolitana di Milano (Metropolitan City of Milan) is the promoter of the Derive e Approdi project, which aims to combat human trafficking, protect victims of sexual exploitation, severe forced labor, forced begging, and illegal economies, and facilitate their subsequent social inclusion through individualized paths of protection and reintegration. The project, funded by the Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri – Dipartimento per le Pari Opportunità (Presidency of the Council of Ministers – Department for Equal Opportunities), has supported victims of trafficking across the territory for years and seeks to communicate its work to its target audiences, highlighting the specificities of the context in which it operates.

In 2021, Città Metropolitana, together with cheFare and Codici, launched a journalism workshop: a training path designed to gather a community of writers, graphic designers, and photographers, guiding them in the creation of a digital magazine.

From May 30 to July 7, 2022, the first "workshop for learning to write about difficult subjects" took place, led by journalist and researcher Giuliano Battiston. Città Metropolitana di Milano and the Derive e Approdi network offered 15 young men and women aged 18 to 25 a free program consisting of 27 hours of training and 6 hours of seminars. This total of 33 hours was designed to deepen their knowledge of writing and to produce the first issue of the magazine Emersioni #1: Storie e percorsi dallo sfruttamento all’autonomia (Emersions #1: Stories and Paths from Exploitation to Autonomy).

Link is a workshop that seeks to meet two needs: that of those who daily support vulnerable and discriminated individuals but struggle to talk about their work, and that of those who, being sensitive to complex social issues, would like to learn how to discuss and write about them. The Link program guided participants in discovering, through writing, the daily efforts of the Derive e Approdi network regarding complex themes that directly and indirectly affect the lives of each of us: non-linear life and migration paths, mental and physical well-being, labor and the body, self-exploitation and exploitation, and freedoms and rights.

During the workshop, participants were called upon to reflect, identify, and develop journalistic stories, conduct interviews, edit articles, and develop an editorial product (such as a magazine), acting as a hub for the contributions and perspectives of multiple people and organizations.

A program designed to engage young people and narrate the complexity of the Derive e Approdi (Drifts and Landings) project, which works to combat human trafficking and provide protection to victims of exploitation. 

Città Metropolitana di Milano (Metropolitan City of Milan) is the promoter of the Derive e Approdi project, which aims to combat human trafficking, protect victims of sexual exploitation, severe forced labor, forced begging, and illegal economies, and facilitate their subsequent social inclusion through individualized paths of protection and reintegration. The project, funded by the Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri – Dipartimento per le Pari Opportunità (Presidency of the Council of Ministers – Department for Equal Opportunities), has supported victims of trafficking across the territory for years and seeks to communicate its work to its target audiences, highlighting the specificities of the context in which it operates.

In 2021, Città Metropolitana, together with cheFare and Codici, launched a journalism workshop: a training path designed to gather a community of writers, graphic designers, and photographers, guiding them in the creation of a digital magazine.

From May 30 to July 5, 2023, the second "workshop for learning to write about difficult subjects" took place, led once again by Giuliano Battiston. Città Metropolitana di Milano and the Derive e Approdi network offered 15 young women aged 16 to 25 a free program consisting of 33 hours of training, designed to deepen their knowledge of writing and to produce the second issue of the magazine Emersioni#2: Incontri, testimonianze e domande sul grave sfruttamento lavorativo (Emersions#2: Encounters, Testimonies, and Questions on Severe Labor Exploitation).

Link is a workshop that seeks to meet two needs: that of those who daily support vulnerable and discriminated individuals but struggle to talk about their work, and that of those who, being sensitive to complex social issues, would like to learn how to discuss and write about them. The Link program guided participants in discovering, through writing, the daily efforts of the Derive e Approdi network regarding complex themes that directly and indirectly affect the lives of each of us: non-linear life and migration paths, mental and physical well-being, labor and the body, self-exploitation and exploitation, and freedoms and rights.

During the workshop, participants were called upon to reflect, identify, and develop journalistic stories, conduct interviews, edit articles, and develop an editorial product (such as a magazine), acting as a hub for the contributions and perspectives of multiple people and organizations.