Curating in Nightclubs: Sara Van Bussel and Manuela Nobile on Art in Unconventional Spaces

Curators Sara Van Bussel and Manuela Nobile bring contemporary art into nightclubs and strip clubs, challenging traditional exhibition spaces. Their project 'LOOK AT ME VOL. I' took place in a Milan strip club, featuring artists like Giulia Crispiani, Michele Rizzo, and Flaminia Veronesi. Van Bussel studied art history at the University of Amsterdam and worked as a gallery manager at 23. Nobile studied communication design at Brera Academy and NABA, founding State Of in 2019, an exhibition project in a fashion showroom. They met in Milan and decided to curate only night-time projects, viewing the night as a symbol of emancipation and democracy. Their work includes the trilogy 'Look at Me' and the format 'Contaminazioni' merging art and live music. Van Bussel cites influences Walter Benjamin, Timothy Ingold, Henri Bergson, and Aby Warburg. Nobile admires projects by Giorgia Ori (Pianeta Fresco) and Maria Luigia Gioffrè (In-ruins). They also posed nude for an interview on Made in Mind, photographed by Tarin, referencing a Frigidaire piece on Achille Bonito Oliva.