New exhibitions at TAM, until 29 March 2026

The Teatro dell’architettura Mendrisio (TAM) of the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) presents, from November 14, 2025 to March 29, 2026, two exhibitions promoted by the USI Academy of Architecture: “STEFANO GRAZIANI. Reality Show”, curated by Francesco Zanot, offering a reflection on the status of contemporary photography, between documentation and simulation of reality; and “ARCHISATIRE. A Counter- History of Architecture”, curated by Gabriele Neri in collaboration with the Library of the Academy of Architecture, a journey through caricatures, cartoons, and publications that recount with irony the relationship between satire and architecture over the past centuries.
Accompanying the two exhibitions, the ground floor of the TAM will feature the installation “TWO EXERCISES”, created by first-year students of Design studio horizzontale Blumer.
 

The exhibition "STEFANO GRAZIANI. Reality Show", curated by Francesco Zanot, presents a selection of works by Stefano Graziani, some pre-existing and others previously unseen, which engage in a dialogue with each other without referring to a single theme. Architecture, objects, nature, cities, people and much more populate his photographs without ever claiming a dominant role but rather appearing as elements of a complex, layered plot. Decipherable to varying degrees, these works by Graziani have been brought together primarily because they belong to the same historic moment, the same time: an open, suspended, questioned time. Dysfunctional by choice, these photographs elude the logic of the useful and the necessary, leaving the viewer’s gaze and thoughts to wander among deviations, details and clues. Graziani works against our expectations, constructing his works as open pictures (shots) that induce dispersion, the proliferation of alternative narratives and escape. Everything you see in these photographs is real, even if sometimes it does not seem so. Graziani reflects on the status of photography today, within the vortex that brings documentation and simulation together and causes them to clash. His works are simultaneously proof and refutation. This is not an exhibition of reality, but about reality. We are faced with reality on display. Exposed. Reality show.

The exhibition “ARCHISATIRE. A Counter-History of Architecture”, curated by Gabriele Neri in collaboration with the Library of the Academy of Architecture, explores the encounter between satire and architecture through caricatures, cartoons, photomontages, animated films, videos and other forms of expression. The exhibition offers an unconventional interpretive key that contrasts the "gravitas" traditionally attributed to the act of building with the wit – and often the irreverence – of satirical narrative, thus proposing an “alternative historiography” of the architectural and urban transformations of the past centuries. The works on display, often conceived for the ephemeral life of newspapers and magazines and addressed to a broad audience, become an original critical tool that reveals the impact of architecture on everyday life, as well as to the cultural and social role of satire and irony. This is explored in the exhibition through four thematic sections: from the figure of the architect in caricature, to the “urban scandals” sparked by major projects; from the “irrational house” to the many examples of architects who have engaged with the art of cartoon. Between parody and denunciation, satire and irony emerge as valuable lenses through which to observe architecture from unexpected perspectives, inviting both the viewer and the architect to reflect on the true meaning of the concepts of designing and inhabiting.

The installation "TWO EXERCISES" created by the first-year students of the horizontal Design studio Blumer, is the result of work created in the second semester of the academic year 2024-2025 and the first semester of academic year 2025-2026. These exercises have been repeated for over twenty years, different each time, involving half of the first-year students – about seventy per semester – and alternating with the Ruf horizontal Atelier, dedicated to drawing by hand.
The Blumer horizontal Design studio has always focused on themes dealing with the body, movement and events, explored through constructive and performative practices. The exercises, which are strictly interactive, call for the designed objects to be activated, transported and exhibited in a sort of “turning on” operation, a direct verification of their constructive precision and functioning.

• Calendar and Opening hours

14 November 2025 – 29 March 2026

Thursday – Friday
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Monday – Wednesday
Closed (open for groups and classes by reservation)

Winter closure: 22 December 2025 – 2 January 2026
For public holidays and special openings, consult the website.

• Open Days and Guided Tours

On the occasion of the exhibitions, the Teatro dell’architettura Mendrisio will regularly host free-admission open days, guided tours, and other special events. More information will be available later on the website www.tam.usi.ch.

Free Open Days

• Sunday 7 December 2025, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Sunday 4 January 2026, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Sunday 1 February 2026, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Sunday 1 March 2026, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Free guided tours (in Italian) of the two exhibitions
In collaboration with students of the Academy of Architecture:

• Saturday 6 December 2025, at 11:00 am
• Saturday 3 January 2026, at 11:00 am
• Saturday 31 January 2026, at 11:00 am
• Saturday 28 February 2026, at 11:00 am
  On these dates, the guided tour is free, while entrance to the exhibition is subject to ticket purchase.

Guided tours with the exhibition curators
Dates will be announced soon through the TAM newsletter.

Group guided tours (ITA, ENG, GER, FR) available upon reservation, even outside regular opening hours.
For information and bookings, please write to: [email protected]