Fondazione Prada presents exclusive exhibition “Wes Anderson – Asteroid City”

Based on Wes Anderson's cult film Asteroid City, which premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, Fondazione Prada and Universal Pictures International Italy present the exclusive exhibition "Wes Anderson: Asteroid City" in Milan."Asteroid City" can be called a filigree combination of a Western and a science fiction film, combining science fiction with the spirit of Broadway. The show brings the fictional landscape and environment of the film into a real physical space where everyone present can feel the energy of the brilliant film director - Wes Anderson.

In Fondazione Prada’s Nord gallery, selected scenery elements are arranged in independent installations, each of which refers to a key scene from the film in an order that follows its plot almost faithfully. Each exhibition section is associated with an audio track extracted from the connected scene. However, the exhibition path offers visitors the opportunity to invent their autonomous narrative, moving freely between the various sequences of the exhibition and the film.

Detailed sets and original props on display include the miniaturized model freight train that cuts through the desert, humorous pastel-colored vending machines stocked with snacks, cigarettes, beverages and ammunition for the Asteroid City population, the telephone booth, billboards, flags, street signs, artworks, and many of the characters’ costumes, accessories and other items — like books, hand-written notebooks and musical instruments, arranged together with set pieces to recreate sequences from the film.

“Wes Anderson – Asteroid City: Exhibition” translates the film language into a new artistic medium. It allows for a deeper reading of complex subjects about human existence and various American political and social ideals that run through the director’s vision. Fondazione Prada’s exhibition provides a rare opportunity to explore the filmmaking process in its concreteness and inventiveness and analyze cinema storytelling from an up-close and unprecedented perspective.

Guests can visit the exhibition in Milan from September 23, 2023, to January 7, 2024.  

Photo: T-space, Delfino Sisto Legnani - DSL Studio

Courtesy of Fondazione Prada