Terraforma Exo / 2025

Milan (28–29 June), Rome (27 September), Palermo (25 October)

An environmental art festival returns in 2025, weaving sound ecology, urban landscapes, and the delicate interplay between humans and nature into a living sonic ecosystem. Featuring international artists and performers, the initiative expands both sonically and geographically across Milan (28–29 June), Rome (27 September) and Palermo (25 October), where vibrations and rhythms awaken collective awareness and inspire transformative action.

The natural ecosystem is a flawless balance of pulses, vibrations, and forms—a chain of micro-processes and organisms, each with seemingly distinct origins, yet capable of aligning within a single, cohesive universe. From this structure emerges Terraforma EXO: an initiative by Threeds that prompts critical reflection on a pressing yet often overlooked issue, the preservation of ecosystems and the profound impact of the interrelationship between humans and their environment.Far from being a conventional cultural event, Terraforma EXO stands as a magnetic and generative force. It brings together a collective of individuals and artists within a shared living space, fostering moments of deep sensory and meditative connection.

Now returning for its second edition, EXO reaffirms its ambition to harness art and performance as active instruments of fertile, transformative change. In partnership with Atlas of Change, the 2025 edition launches a wide-reaching awareness campaign focused on environmental protection, exploring the intersections of sound ecology, urban infrastructure, and social dynamics. This year, the initiative expands not only in conceptual, performative, and meditative scope but also geographically. New cities and venues have been added, broadening its reach and allowing its message to ripple outward—like a sound wave—across an even wider audience.At the heart of the project is Milan, the launch site and symbolic point of departure (28–29 June). The programme then travels to Rome (27 September), concluding in Palermo (25 October).

In each city, specific spaces have been carefully chosen—sites capable of embodying the green soul of the project and expressing the connection between the natural environment, human presence, and ecological sound. In harmony with the organic flow typical of living systems, the initiative began in Parco Sempione and branched out across various city locations: Torre Branca, Palazzina Appiani, Giardini della Triennale (including the new Voce space), Castello Sforzesco, Teatro Continuo by Alberto Burri, and finally Teatro Principe, where Gatto Verde took place—a nocturnal event epitomising the union of sound and sensory experience. The Milanese programme featured a diverse lineup of Italian and international artists offering site-specific contributions. Among them was Lorenzo Senni, with Eureka!—a curated selection of moments from his mixes, drawing on fifteen years of research into the interplay between structural mechanics and the emotional dimensions of electronic music.

Florian Hecker presented FAVN, a psychothematic performance exploring imagination and hallucination in relation to sensory perception, inspired by the faun figure and Mallarmé’s symbolist poem. Heith & James K delivered a surreal performance inspired by the Antikythera mechanism—a fictive panel talk exploring the role of technology in shaping our perception of reality and the unknown. In the Triennale Gardens, Bill Kouligas & Forensis offered a profound sonic narrative confronting postcolonial amnesia. Through their project The Drum and The Bird, they used sound to unearth buried stories and lives, transforming hidden voices and forgotten fragments into immersive sonic textures.The programme culminated in Gatto Verde, featuring HITechH, a Detroit trio reviving a non-mainstream vision of nightlife—a chaotic, playful blend of hip-hop and house. Joining them were Mi-el, known for her richly textured electronic sound, along with Sister Effect and DJ Plead.

In September, the project moves to Rome, where Forte Antenne, nestled within Villa Ada, sets the stage for a reflective experience. Two performances here explore themes of memory, sound, and the natural world.The first, Serpent Song by Nkisi, is a temporal journey through music and memory, tracing the shaping power of sound across time and space. The second, Depth Charge by Underground Resistance, centres on musical activism, cultural resistance, and the legacy of Detroit’s techno movement. The journey concludes in Palermo, in the lush gardens of Villa Tasca, where Moritz von Oswald presents Silencio, his latest album. The performance juxtaposes tonal contrasts and layered vocal harmonies, bridging analogue and digital realms while reflecting on the heritage of Tresor Records.

The finale pays tribute to minimalist music, with Rrose performing Never Written, a 1971 percussion piece by James Tenney. The work unfolds as an emotional breach—vibrating through every particle, immersing the listener in a heightened state of sensory awareness.More than a cultural festival, Terraforma EXO emerges as a sonic wave—a rapidly propagating vibration rooted in individual awareness and amplified through collective experience. Here, art is no longer solely personal; it becomes a language and tool for action—a force capable of generating real social, environmental, and human transformation.