Giuliano Picchi (he/him) is an advisor, cultural manager, and creative economy specialist with expertise in cultural leadership, entrepreneurship, and academic research on the art system and markets. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he serves as the Advisor to the Dean for Scientific Research on Art and Culture at the School of Architecture and Planning. He leads MIT Culture Dynamics, an umbrella project committed to advancing multidisciplinary research on culture and creativity and the development of real-world applications to address complex challenges. He currently teaches the graduate course 4.S24 on entrepreneurship for creatives. He also serves as a Cultural Entrepreneur in Residence in the MITdesignX program where his work focuses on micro-entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative sectors with a focus on the broader impact of creative professions. He is a Research Affiliate of the MIT ACT, Art, Culture, and Technology program and a visiting scholar at the MIT Leventhal Centre for Advanced Urbanism, where his area of inquiry centers on the relationship between urban cultural assets and the performance of other urban systems, particularly behavioral ones.

He is a fellow of the Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard University, where he explores creative practices that have a measurable impact on society.

Picchi founded the international NGO UNITA—United Talents for the Future, which focuses on experimental multidisciplinary projects around the arts and on supporting creative careers by providing training, mentorship, networking, and mobility opportunities. He is also the founder and curator of Scenography Today, an online publication that promotes excellence in scenic design and the performing arts. Through its social channels, the publication reaches 100,000+ creatives worldwide, and its Horizons program helps creatives from less connected regions gain visibility and new audiences.

As an academic, Picchi’s research has focused on art markets, their business models, and gatekeeping dynamics. His other research interests lie in the relationship between creative experiences and behavior changes, as well as in the values and impacts that arts and culture produce beyond the intrinsic ones, bridging economics, public affairs, life sciences, international relations, management, and urbanism.

He holds certifications in Cultural Diplomacy and International Cooperation from ISPI, Milan, and Intellectual Property (Copyright and Related Rights) from WIPO, Geneva. He is enrolled in a PhD program in Marketing of Art and Culture at the University of Valencia and holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Management of Arts and Culture from Ca’ Foscari University in Venice and a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Sapienza University in Rome.