Art Thinking Manifesto Presented at RavelloLab Aims to Integrate Art into Public and Private Processes

The Art Thinking manifesto, promoted by Arteprima Progetti, was presented at RavelloLab by Francesco Cascino, Umberto Croppi, and Pierpaolo Forte during international colloquia running until October 26. The document proposes repositioning art, artists, and curators at the forefront of all public and private processes in Italy, spanning agriculture, industry, services, finance, institutions, urban planning, environmental sustainability, territorial development, social inclusion, and education. The initiative began on June 25, 2019, at the MAXXI in Rome, where about 60 figures from art, industry, politics, economics, culture, and science gathered to draft the manifesto, building on work started by Arteprima No profit in 2010. The assembly agreed to bring the manifesto to the attention of Mibact and the Italian government. The Culture Commission of Confindustria, chaired by Renzo Iorio, has already endorsed it. The manifesto argues that the mind thinks in images, and art generates images of new worlds, citing historic Italian art cities like Matera, Florence, Rome, and Venice as examples of aesthetic experience driving development. A public conference with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage is planned within two months. Signatories include Francesco Cascino, Raffaele Giannitelli, and Gianni Procaccino.