Artopia opens in 2001 with a solo exhibition by Marzia Migliora entitled "In punta di piedi" curated by Emanuela de Cecco.
Located in the Porta Romana district, right in the heart of Milan, Artopia is conceived as a sui generis project: house and gallery, in the beginning communicating but independent, contiguous but delineated. This very proximity, between public and private, structures the gallery's programme, which focuses on site-specific projects by Italian and international artists (Adrian Paci , Maja Bajevic, Jelena Tomasevic, Margherita Morgantin, Phil Collins, Zilla Leutenegger, Moira Ricci, Andrea Galvani) exploring themes dedicated to the home, its loss, the identity and the sense of belonging.
In 2011, Artopia modifies its physical spaces by concretely separating the gallery from the house and elaborates an amplified interdisciplinary cultural program focused on new artistic terrains, such as cinema, performance, architecture and design. Particular relevance is given to the research on time, that the gallery investigates with artists who have captured its different effects (ZAPRUDER filmmakersgroup, Julie Béna, Elizabeth McAlpine, Jean-Baptiste Maître, Alice Anderson).
In 2023, the gallery moves, if just a few meters, to a new eclectic space in the courtyard of the same building. The opening exhibition, evocatively titled “Le Donne con tre anime” curated by Marjolaine Levy, marks this third passage. It’s in this third soul, the feminine one, embodying art and innovation, that the gallery's attitude is mirrored and reconfirmed: a reflection on the power of art and culture as a flywheel for a common psychological and material rebirth. The reading of the present through stories of the past and projections into the future, pushes the gallery to investigate, with specifically staged projects and new productions, the themes of the environment and care (Elena Mazzi), the relationship between technology and nature (Eva l'Hoest) and the sensibility of psychological processes (Niamh O'Malley, Marzena Nowak).
Each exhibition is paired with a bilingual publication, edited by the gallery, that presents an introductory critical essay and a selection of installation views.
Since 2022 Artopia organises Nucré, a project born from an idea of Rita Urso and Arechi Invernizzi. Inspired by the nature of the region that hosts it, Puglia, contemporary art is used as a lens to explore the richness of its territory, history and tradition, with a summer programme consisting of two exhibitions and a residency. Nucré is supported by the Municipality of Ceglie Messapica, the Region of Puglia and, starting from 2024, will collaborate with the Museo Pino Pascali of Polignano a mare.
