Who are we talking to?

In 2022 Video Sound Art won the Per la Cultura call of Fondazione Cariplo with a project carried out in collaboration with Liceo Volta in Milan. Putting experimental co-design practices to work, the project involved students, artists and professionals from the field — cultural workers, architects, curators.

The questions revolve around the role of cultural spaces in relation to younger audiences, who continue to be the passive recipients of decisions made elsewhere. Which practices can reverse this tendency? Is it possible to involve audiences so that culture becomes again the great collective ritual it is?

During the opening days of the exhibition the students met the artists and the staff, taking part in workshops on video and photography, communications and production, and guiding visitors through the works. The project continued with meetings and workshops together with the researchers of the Design and Creativity Centre of the Politecnico di Milano. After six months of development came Io non sono solo uno studente, a festival of installations and performances designed entirely by the students, held on 16 and 17 March 2023 at Liceo Volta.