The 167th General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) has formally recognised the 23rd edition of the Triennale di Milano International Exhibition, which will take place between 20 May and 20 November 2022 under the theme “Unknown Unknowns. What we don’t know we don’t know.”

BIE Member States, gathered in the General Assembly via videoconference, unanimously agreed with the BIE’s Executive Committee’s recommendation to grant recognition to the 23rd Triennale di Milano, requested by the Government of Italy. This recognition confirms the status of the 23rd edition of the Triennale di Milano as an International Exhibition and makes it possible for Italy to invite international participants via diplomatic channels.

Presenting the concept of the XXIII Triennale to Member States, the President of Triennale Milano, Stefano Boeri, indicated:"Unknown Unknowns wants to engage us in an exploration, both as individuals and as humanity, through tensioning question marks and going beyond uncharted mysteries. The 23rd International Exhibition will approach the “Unknown Unknowns” with a sense of wonder in the knowledge, trying to trigger collective awe and cross-disciplinary pollination towards prototyping better futures and crafting renewed ways to inhabit them."

Two symposia were organised in March and June 2020 to develop this theme, which lies on a critical continuum with the 2019 edition of the Triennale organised under the theme of “Broken Nature”.

The Secretary General of the BIE, Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, declared:“The 2022 edition of the Triennale di Milano International Exhibition will be a unique and transparent platform that will go beyond the questions we know and ask those that we do not. In doing so, countries across the globe will explore and present new angles on the world we inhabit and forward-thinking outlooks on our shared future.”

Dedicated to architecture and city planning, culture and design, the Triennale di Milano International Exhibition is organised by the Triennale Milano institution, with the support and endorsement of the BIE, the Italian Government, the City of Milan, the Lombardy region, and the Milan Monza Brianza Lodi Chamber of Commerce. Since the creation of the BIE, a total of 16 editions of the Triennale have been recognised.