Massimo Gallerani

Author, Art Director, Set Designer

After pursuing classical studies and humanities and taking a degree in Philosophy, I dedicated myself to teaching, working for several years as an assistant to the professor of Moral Philosophy at the Università Statale di Milano. At the same time, I had numerous works and essays published by Rizzoli, Il Saggiatore and Dedalo. I furthered my professional studies as a transactional, psycho-social counsellor and went on to register as a professional counsellor with the CNCP. I have also taken courses in autogenic therapy, acquiring a diploma in anti-stress. bio-harmonic and ayurvedic massage. 

As the years went by, I became increasingly more interested in writing, creating copy and scripts for radio and television programmes for the RAI broadcasting house and the Swiss-Italian Television company, as well as publishing numerous poems in literary magazines. Music and song writing have also been a huge part of my activities as an author and I have written lyrics for musicians, such as Vangelis, Theodorakis, Battiato and Mikroutsikos, which have been recorded by numerous artists, in Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Switzerland, to name but a few.

My early passion for theatre led me to audition at the Piccolo Teatro of Milan acting school, where I collaborated for several years, when it was under the direction of Giorgio Strehler, working on some of his most famous productions (“Opera da tre soldi” by Brecht-Weill, “Il Giardino dei ciliegi” by Cechov, “Il Campiello” by Goldoni, “Le Balcon” by Genet, “Minna von Barnhelm” by Lessing, “La Tempesta” by Shakespeare….)  

Finally, my experience in visual arts and scenography, which I acquired while working in theatre, led on to my role as an art and communications director in the fashion industry, where I also organised and curated numerous exhibitions. Besides taking care of the textual part of the communication and the publicity, I also directed the visual merchandising. In particular, I privileged the strategic location of the flagship store in Via Montenapoleone by rendering the windows an authentic stage for theatrical installations. Here, my stage experience came handy in order to create scenes anchored in the contemporary visual culture.