How does a “like” materialise? How many deserts become processors? Where is the work that connects us hidden?
In the folds of everyday digital life, where every click seems magical and every parcel seems to arrive “out of nowhere”, the exhibition Material Virtualities brings to the surface what the illusion of the virtual tends to remove: the material.
The exhibition, open to the public from 30 October to 22 November 2025, invites us to look beyond the screen to discover the infrastructure, bodies and natural resources that lie behind every interaction with our devices. The Limonaia of Villa Saroli in Lugano is transformed into a critical and sensory space, where six art and research installations guide visitors through the invisible physicality of the digital world, among silicon beaches, work tents, theological tables and visual experiences.

In dialogue with the exhibition, a programme of four public events expands and deepens the themes of the exhibition, offering opportunities for discussion between art, technology and society.
This first event inaugurates the exhibition with an installation to introduce children up to the age of 4 to the materiality of the digital world.

Programme

• 5:00-5:30 p.m.: Il Piccolo Circuito – Space for play and discovery

Inauguration of Miryam Pol's installation (USI SUPSInido) with activities for children.
The new generations are born immersed in the digital world. Even without knowing it, children experience technology directly or indirectly. Il Piccolo Circuito, created by Miryam Pol, is a work that aims to introduce young children to the materiality of the digital world.
It will be presented and tested here for the first time. Il Piccolo Circuito will then become part of
the USI SUPSInido spaces at the USI-SUPSI East Campus in Viganello, continuing to be a place of discovery, play and daily learning for children aged 4 months to 4 years.

• 5:30-6:00 p.m.: Presentation of the exhibition
• 6:00-7:00 p.m.: Inaugural aperitif

Info and participation

Free event and free admission to the exhibition.

The event is part of a series of four public events that explore the theme of the hidden materiality of digital technology from different points of view and with a focus on audiences of different age groups.

Each initiative will be introduced by a brief presentation of the exhibition and followed by an aperitif.

The exhibition is organised in collaboration with Stiftung Mercator, SUPSI, i2a and Big Tech Watch – Think Tank, as part of the Horizon Europe INCA project (funded by the European Union with GA no. 101061653).

Exhibition opening hours: Thursday and Friday, from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Saturday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m..

The programme with all public events is available in the poster, which can be downloaded on the side.