ROME.- MACRO—Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome presents its 2026 exhibition programme (part one).

Contemporary art as a necessary practice

In 2026, MACRO—Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome expands its programme, conceived by artistic director Cristiana Perrella, beyond a thematic framework, developing a set of exhibitions, commissions, and research projects that address the present through a plurality of artistic positions.

Following a first season focused on Rome as a field of observation—across temporal, social, and disciplinary stratifications—the museum now opens to a broader horizon, strengthening its role as a site for production, research, and public engagement.

The programme brings together major solo exhibitions, new productions, and institutional collaborations, with a focus on international artists and experimental formats. MACRO positions itself as a space where contemporary art operates as a living and necessary practice, engaging critically with current conditions while remaining accessible to diverse audiences.

From April 29, within the museum’s historic wing, part of the former Birreria Peroni spaces is reactivated as a new area dedicated to sound and moving image. The project includes an audio room, a cinema, and a permanent video room designed for the presentation of time-based works in dedicated viewing conditions.

This new infrastructure supports an expanded programme of screenings, sound works, moving image projects, and public events. The audio room is conceived for focused listening, while the video room hosts curated programmes, new productions, and talks.

Presented for the first time in Italy, Mechanical Kurds by Hito Steyerl (April 29–August 30, 2026), curated by Alice Labor, combines a single-channel video with an immersive installation. Commissioned in 2025 by Jeu de Paume, Paris, and the New Museum, New York, the work examines the relationship between digital labour, artificial intelligence, geopolitical conflict, and image production.

The title refers to both the eighteenth-century “Mechanical Turk” and contemporary crowdsourcing systems. The work is based on testimonies from Kurdish-Syrian refugees employed as “ghost workers” in AI training processes. It reveals the intersection between technological infrastructures and political violence, showing how these same workers become targets within systems of conflict.

The new spaces open with SHE DEVIL 14 (April 29–August 30, 2026), the long-running programme of women’s video art conceived by Stefania Miscetti in 2006. Its fourteenth edition addresses fear in the present through a multiplicity of perspectives and formats, alternating documentary approaches and artist films. Participating artists include Monira Al Qadiri, Cecelia Condit, Raffaella Crispino, Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, Helen Anna Flanagan & Josefin Arnell, Regina José Galindo, Camille Henrot, Laure Prouvost, P. Staff, Janis Rafa, Tabita Rezaire, Marianna Simnett, Berta Tilmantaitė, Neringa Rekašiūtė, Rūta Meilutytė, Aurelija Urbonavičiūtė, and Yuyan Wang.

The audio room programme opens with Amelia Rosselli: A Song in Its Space, curated by Andrea Cortellessa, marking thirty years since the poet’s passing. From April 29 to June 28, the programme presents audio materials from Con l’Ascia Dietro le Spalle; from June 29 to August 30, it continues with a full reading of Impromptu.

The first major Italian retrospective dedicated to Miriam Cahn (May 29–November 1, 2026), curated by Cristiana Perrella, brings together over eighty works from the 1970s to the present. Installed in the museum’s main gallery, the exhibition unfolds through thematic clusters rather than a chronological sequence, reflecting the central concerns of the artist’s practice: the body, violence, desire, war, and vulnerability. A key element of the display is the use of immersive, self-contained environments that guide visitors through distinct emotional and perceptual registers.

The exhibition is fully aligned with MACRO’s programme, which foregrounds artistic research, accessibility, and engagement with social and gender-related issues, addressing both specialist audiences and a wider public.

Looking ahead to the autumn season, in September 2026 MACRO will present the first institutional retrospective dedicated to Marialba Russo, curated by Cristiana Perrella and Elena Magini. The exhibition focuses on Russo’s production of the 1970s, exploring the cultural construction of gender and the fluidity between masculine and feminine identities. The project will be accompanied by a parallel presentation at MUCIV—Museum of Civilizations, Rome, expanding on the anthropological dimension of the artist’s research.

This will be followed by an exhibition by Francis Upritchard and Martino Gamper, curated by Cristiana Perrella, bringing together sculpture and design through a series of site-specific interventions across the museum’s spaces. The programme will conclude in December 2026 with a new project by Alessandro Sciarroni, curated by Cristiana Perrella and Elena Magini, conceived specifically for the museum’s main gallery.

The programme is promoted by the Department of Culture of Roma Capitale and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, and produced and organised by Azienda Speciale Palaexpo. Conceived by artistic director Cristiana Perrella, it defines the museum as a dynamic and responsive institution, where exhibitions are accompanied by an ongoing public programme.