Identity and Violence – Dialogs between Video Art and Sociology _News

I am glad to announce my poartecipation at

Identity and Violence – Dialogs between Video Art and Sociology

Patrizia Bonardi, the artist and founder or artists.sociologists, will coordinate the event alongside sociologist Federico Silvestri.

The screening will be presented by artists.sociologists in collaboration with Visualcontainer.

Venerdì 22 Aprile 2016 ore 18:00

ARCI_ Via Quarenghi 34_Bergamo

artists.sociologists has developed into a Cultural Association at the start of 2016, and today presents its first event, marking the 1st Anniversary since its launch as a website dedicated to the dialogue between artists and social scientists (“www.facebook.com/artists.sociologists”).

Under the title “Identity and Violence”, this event experiments with hybrid territories between art and sociology within the complex phenomenon of increasing diversity between identities, in which we are called to reflect upon the impact of migration processes upon the sociological landscape of Europe. If Europe wants to live up to its constitutive vocation to human rights, a peaceful condition of this process of change will only be found through dialogue and mutual respect.

The title of the event is borrowed from Amartya Sen’s essay by the same name. Published ten years ago, this is an essay that remains extremely topical to this day, especially considering the widespread level of intolerance in dealing with issues of inclusion and/or rejection of multifaceted identities within an increasingly globalized world.

According to Amartya Sen, an Indian academic who has been living in England for many years, the growing Islamist radicalization that we see today is correlated with the fundamental error of the Western world, namely its reductionist attempt to freeze differences or conflicts in terms of religious clash. In Sen’s argument, the Muslim world should be seen in all the complexity and diversity of its civil, political and intellectual domains around the world and vis a vis (but not in confessional opposition to) the Western world. For Sen, a Muslim individual is first of all a citizen, endowed with his own peculiar history and aspirations and whose religious manifestations should only be considered as a secondary element. In his view, this approach would positively contribute to mitigating the various labels, miniaturization and discrimination that inevitably end up working in favour of those who do not want to build a dialogue, but rather prefer promoting irreconcilable rifts and endless violence.

It is within this analytical framework that the Cultural Association artists.sociologists presents this event, with the aim of contributing to a sociological reflection using the medium of video art.

The screening of the videos selected for this event will last for forty minutes, and will take place in the multimedia venue of Arci Bergamo. It will be followed by speeches and readings focusing on the role of video art as a tool for promoting moments of reflection on issues of communal tension. This will be an event of reciprocal fertilization between Art and Sociology: between the subtle, intuitive approach of any creative process and the more analytic approach of the social sciences, because bringing together rationality and creativity can contribute to a better understanding of how the human universe functions, as a system of relations, of people, of objects and words in continuous shift and in mutual recognition.

We will present the works of ten international artists engaged on issues like multiculturalism, migration, inclusion, and focusing more in general on the issue of ‘otherness”: “the gaze towards the other”.
The video screening will be followed by a public debate, with contributions from various philosophers, sociologists, intellectuals, art lovers and social scientists.

Patrizia Bonardi, the artist and founder or artists.sociologists, will coordinate the event alongside sociologist Federico Silvestri.

Here is the list of authors and videos that will be presented by artists.sociologists in collaboration with Visualcontainer:

Daniela Di Maro Migrations 2011, 5’1
Con.Tatto In difference 2013, 2’46
Elena Bellantoni Life Jacket 2007, 1’00
Silvia Camporesi Secondo vento 2010, 3’45
Cristobal Catalan Tour (Scape), 2010, 7’15
Maria Felix Korporal Stay or fly away? 2015, 0’50
Yuri Pirondi + Ines Von Bonhorst Void Shades 2012, 10’00
Luca Ferri Kaputt / Katastrophe 2012, 15’45 (Excerpt)
Claudia Maina Bedbugs Castles 2010, 02’48
Patrizia Bonardi Flowers migrants Ritual 2015, 3’37

Interventions and contributions by:
Katiuscia Carnà, Laura Campanella, Daniela Bezzi, Nicolas Martino, Serena Valietti, Anders Morley, Antonella Marconi, Veronica Polese, Giorgio Marsiglia, Antonella Fucecchi Rankoussi, Alessandra Arnò, Beatrice Salvatore, Fabio Benincasa, Silvia Corna, Armida Gandini, Véronique Du Moulin, Salvatore Donatiello, Maria Maddalena Manna, Ilaria Bonacina, Ivan Fassio, Gennaro Esposito.

***
“Artist.Sociologists is an ongoing project aimed at looking into questions I began exploring in 2009 with a thesis entitled “Unexpected Points of Contact in Conversations between Artists and Sociolologists.” Charting artists.sociologists as interactive page and namesake association, I hope to be part of a process of rapprochement between the two areas, together with the artists and sociologists who will want to get involved in this hybrid territory, still in the making.

My most sincere Thanks go to Visualcontainer and in particular to Alessandra Arnò for the wonderful collaboration: to Bergamo Arci that has welcome us in a spirit of openness towards a new cultural outfit in its territory; to the sociologist Federico Silvestri for his daily personal commitment towards the issue of migration.
Thank you in particular to the artists who will present their works together with me. Indeed, all of them have been involved in this experience with passion, and in a spirit of generosity and sharing, with faith in the possibility of Art, and Video Art in particular, as creative tools for enhancing active participation and citizenship awareness, towards a fairer world.” (translated by Daniela Bezzi)

Patrizia Bonardi
Artist and founder of artists.sociologists