We started the idea of the Trussardi Foundation in 2003 as a nomadic enterprise because we felt Milan was too private and hidden and there was a need for a more public and visible approach to art.

Now, six years later, we have witnessed a great change in the attitude towards contemporary art. I think it is also a merit of the Foundation that has contributed to make art, and the debate around it, much more public, a matter that we must come to terms with. More importantly, I think Milan rediscovered something that was very much buried in its DNA, a vocation to contemporary art and culture that had only very recently been lost.

Does Milan hold a special place in the contemporary art world in Italy?

The lack of public institutions has created a very special mix in Milan, a very peculiar way of turning private resources into commonwealth.

Absolutely, Milan still has the highest number of galleries in Italy and many of them have an international profile. As a consequence many artists still live and work in Milan. The city, which is still without a propre museum, has indirectly left plenty of space for the activities of private foundations like Trussardi or Prada that each created new models for presenting and experiencing contemporary art.

You are also curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. What is the most striking difference between Milan and New York?

Milan is a slow city where it is easier to work fast.

I think it is mostly a difference of speed. Milan is a slow city where it is easier to work fast. New York is a fast city, where institutions often tend to move too slowly. The Trussardi Foundation is a mobile museum in a static city; the New Museum is a flexible institution that tries to capture history in the making