Domitilla Dardi on Working from Home During Coronavirus Lockdown

In a letter published by Artribune as part of its 'Lettere dalla quarantena' series, Domitilla Dardi, Design Curator at MAXXI in Rome, describes her experience during Italy's coronavirus lockdown. She shares a photograph of her studio, highlighting personal objects: a small Thonet chair gifted by her father, an early drawing by her mother, a collection of wooden pencil sharpeners, drawings by her daughters, and letters that changed her life. Dardi notes that working from home is not new to her, as she often works there. She recalls meeting art historian Giulio Carlo Argan at age 20, whose small, orderly study with a wall of drawings left a lasting impression. For MAXXI, she is creating a series of short videos called 'un oggetto al giorno' (one object a day) to exorcise fear, each object linked to an artist from the museum's 10-year history. She is also catching up on reading and writing articles and catalog essays. Dardi reflects on the privilege of solitary intellectual work, hearing her husband on calls, her daughter practicing volleyball, and the younger one singing—'the sweet noise of life' as poet Sandro Penna said. Her greatest fear is that after the crisis, people will forget the value of time, silence, and non-consumptive living.