Social Unrest

The exhibition “Social Unrest” at MATTA gallery, Milan (13 April–12 September 2026), examines contemporary revolts and uprisings, tracing their historical precedents to reveal recurring structural causes. Curated by Niccolò Gravina with historical research by Zoé Samudzi, it features new works by Tony Cokes, Ivan Cheng, Satoshi Fujiwara, Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings, Tifany Sia, Sung Tieu, and recent works by Alessandro Di Pietro and Hannah Black, developed through two years of dialogue and research.

The exhibition design, by Sabotage Practice, forms an on-site barricade of found materials that fragments the gallery and disrupts linear chronology, creating a maze through which artworks are experienced. Across installations, video sculptures, frescoes, and sculptural works, the exhibition reflects on the cycles of social unrest, from late medieval European uprisings to recent global protests, exploring their cultural, political, and ideological roots.

The works consider the material, aesthetic, and emotional residues of revolt: from the 1992 Los Angeles riots to the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, and the Compton’s Cafeteria riot of 1966. Through historical, media, and artistic lenses, “Social Unrest” illuminates recurring patterns of protest, their overlooked rationalities, and the imaginative potential embedded in collective resistance.