On the occasion of Pitti Immagine Uomo 108, the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) and C2C Festival, in collaboration with Mirror Digital Agency, present INTERGALACTIC: an immersive site-specific installation curated by Bill Kouligas, the Greek-born, Berlin-based artist and producer known as one of the most radical voices in contemporary sound and visual experimentation.

Conceived as a platform for interdisciplinary exchange, INTERGALACTIC is the outcome of a three-month collaborative process involving IED students from across Italy and Spain – Milan, Cagliari, Florence, Rome, Turin, Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Como. The students come from a range of disciplines including fashion design, graphic design, textile, sound, video, visual communication, and marketing. Kouligas served as both curator and mentor, fostering an environment where skills and visions could intersect freely, creating a dynamic, horizontal system of creation.

The final work unfolds inside Florence’s Ex Teatro dell’Oriuolo, transforming the space into a responsive ecosystem where sound, textile, image, and sensory stimuli interlace in real time. Visitors are not just spectators but active participants: their movements trigger sounds, which in turn modulate projections on textile surfaces functioning as interactive interfaces. A continuous loop between body and environment, stimulus and response, INTERGALACTIC offers a reflection on how humans, technology, and nature might coexist in new, imaginative ways.

We sat down with Kouligas and Benedetta Lenzi — creative director and IED Florence — on the eve of the project launch to talk about process, horizontality, and the power of new creative energy.

Ritamorena Zotti: How did you develop the concept of “Celestial Harmonies,” and how does it take shape within the space of Intergalactic?

Bill Kouligas: The students had already been working within the framework of Intergalactic before I joined the project. My role was to offer a kind of expanded perspective—to go deeper and introduce a broader conceptual foundation. I brought in references from cybernetics, this older scientific theory about how systems interconnect and communicate. I thought it would be a powerful lens through which their individual mediums—fashion, sound, visual arts—could converge and form a shared experience. The idea was to create a kind of constellation where different expressions could orbit each other in meaningful ways.

RZ: What did you take away from working with the IED students? Any particular insights or sensitivities that stayed with you?

BK: Honestly, it was one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had. I had never worked with students before—and I don’t have kids—so engaging with a younger generation in this way was eye-opening. What struck me is the purity they bring to their work. That kind of clarity and curiosity often fades with experience. They’re not naive—they’re actually more advanced than I expected. I’d give them one small idea, and a week later they’d come back with a fully developed software or prototype. Their drive was humbling. At some point I thought, if this is where they’re at already, maybe I should retire next year!

RZ: In what way did your experience with PAN influence your curatorial approach to Intergalactic?

BK: I wouldn’t say PAN directly shaped this project, because I try to approach every context differently. I don’t like to impose fixed rules or repeat a formula. What I do instead is listen—to the people, the environment, the energy. Then I act as a filter, guiding the work gently toward cohesion. I think of it like making a DJ set: blending different geographies, aesthetics, and histories into one evolving rhythm. You have to trust the materials, and trust the process.

RZ: You often talk about breaking down disciplinary hierarchies. What does it mean for you to create truly horizontal creative spaces?

BK: I think we need to move past the vertical vs. horizontal binary altogether. Both are still rooted in hierarchy. What excites me is a nonlinear approach—where there’s no predetermined structure, just an evolving interplay of mediums, practices, and ideas. That’s how I work with sound too. You gather elements—like cooking, really—and instead of dominating them, you let them balance each other. So much of the art world still clings to a narcissistic model of authorship. But I believe creating worlds is about stepping back. Being honest about what you can contribute, and staying sensitive to what the world needs in return.

RZ: You’ve described Intergalactic as an intention rather than just an installation. Can you elaborate?

BK: What we built was a shared space of reflection, of energy. Everyone learned from each other. It wasn’t my project, and it wasn’t theirs either—it was something in between. A living, breathing moment. And that’s what life should be: an ongoing exercise in relation, in respect, in creative self-discovery.

Benedetta Lenzi: Yes, for us, the process was always more important than the outcome. From the beginning, we said this wasn’t just about producing a final piece—it was about proposing a way of thinking. About reimagining what fashion is, what it draws from, and how different cultural systems can form a collective cosmos.

INTERGALACTIC will be open to the public on June 18 and 19, 2025 at the Ex Teatro dell’Oriuolo in Florence. A special performance by Bill Kouligas will inaugurate the installation—an experience that speaks not only to future forms, but to the present necessity of shared creation.