The soil It is the foundation of life on our planet. It harbors extraordinary biodiversity, regulates the water cycle, stores carbon, nourishes crops, and preserves traces of human history. It is a complex and ever-changing ecosystem, interwoven with invisible relationships and processes that make life on the surface possible. Yet what lies beneath our feet often remains hidden and little known. The exhibition SOIL. The World Beneath Our Feet invites you to discover this universe, to view it from a new perspective, and to understand its richness, beauty, and vital role in the future of Earth.
Following its inaugural edition at Somerset House in London in 2025—an exhibition that was a resounding success, attracting over 45,000 visitors and receiving significant acclaim from the international press, with the Financial Times calling it a “radical exhibition,” The Observer “surprising, engaging, and highly original,” and The Art Newspaper “a celebration of the extraordinary richness of the soil”—the project arrives at MUDEC—the Museum of Cultures in Milan—with an exhibition that brings contemporary art, science, and environmental research into dialogue.Through sculptures, immersive installations, photographs, videos, and scientific materials, the soil reveals itself in all its complexity: not merely inert matter, but a living system— a tapestry of organisms, relationships, and memories upon which the balance of ecosystems and, ultimately, our very existence depends.
Produced by Artrooted, a nonprofit foundation that promotes dialogue between art and science, in collaboration with 24 ORE Cultura – Il Sole 24 ORE Group and edited by Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy (The Land Gardeners), the exhibition brings together twenty-six Italian and international artists, including Giuseppe Penone, Chiara Camoni, Binta Diaw, and the Marshmallow Laser Feast collective. Through diverse artistic languages and sensibilities, the works explore the relationship between humans and the environment, highlighting the myriad connections between the natural world, cultures, and communities. From the microscopic realm of microorganisms to transformations of the landscape, from geology to architecture, and on to the spiritual and cultural connection to the earth, SOIL. The World Beneath Our Feet offers diverse perspectives on a resource that is as precious as it is fragile.
The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the various dimensions of the subsurface and its connections to what lies above ground. Immersive environments, monumental works, and multimedia installations reveal what normally escapes our view: the microscopic life that animates the soil, the underground networks of fungi, the natural processes that sustain ecosystems, and the traces that the soil preserves over time.
The narrative also extends to the cultural and social dimensions of the Earth, exploring the sense of belonging, the memories of these lands, and the relationship between humans and nature. Alongside the beauty and vitality of this universe, the exhibition addresses the consequences of intensive agriculture and land exploitation, prompting reflection on the need to protect and regenerate ecosystems.
The journey concludes with a look toward the future and the concrete possibilities for renewal. Through examples and practices of regeneration from different parts of the world, *SOIL: The World Beneath Our Feet* shows how it is possible to restore a balance between human activities and nature and to care for the health of the planet.
The exhibition will be complemented by a program of lectures, talks, and video screenings designed to explore the themes in greater depth and offer the public opportunities for listening and discussion, thanks to the participation of speakers with diverse experiences and expertise. These events, which are free and open to the general public, will take place in the MUDEC Auditorium on the museum’s opening nights, allowing attendees to combine the event with a visit to SOIL.
An invitation to rediscover the value of what lies beneath our feet and to recognize how closely the health of the soil is linked to the well-being of us all.
