Creature Festival Returns to Rome with Urban Photography Hacking

The urban creativity festival Creature returns to Rome from November 10 to December 9, 2018, with a new format. Organized by Open City Roma in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Rom and TWM Factory, the festival is a spin-off of Open House Roma. Curator Laura Calderoni explains that while Open House opens inaccessible buildings across the city, Creature focuses on a specific district—Municipio III—through the lens of three photographers. Alessandro Imbriaco, Simone Galli, and Maria Feck (Germany) were invited to address three themes: Nature and Artifice, Public Space, and Built Space or Human Scale. Each photographer produced four images that will be displayed from November 19 to December 9 on municipal billboards in the area, a strategy described as 'urban hacking' to regenerate the city through contemporary art. Calderoni notes that commercial spaces become exhibition spaces, creating a diffuse photography show. The festival also includes a call for proposals for Roman creative organizations that have regenerated urban spaces, with a prize of €1,000 to create an artwork or design within their space. The deadline for applications is December 3, 2018. Last year's winner was Roma Smistamento, a hub for cultural workers in a former railway freight yard. Creature is part of the Contemporaneamente Roma 2018 program promoted by Roma Capitale Assessorato alla Crescita culturale in collaboration with Siae.