Forum dell’Arte Contemporanea campaign #arteculturabenicomuni concludes with over 100 participants

The Forum dell’Arte Contemporanea launched the #arteculturabenicomuni campaign in October 2020 to denounce the critical state of the visual arts sector. The campaign invited public and private institutions and spaces to adopt one of six statements synthesized during the Forum’s May 2020 discussion tables, through public posters, video projections, or social media posts. The response was high, with over 100 adhesions from public museums, non-profits, committees, galleries, projects, magazines, and study centers across all Italian regions. The campaign built on the May Forum’s emergency edition, which involved over 300 participants and produced a public document sent to the Italian government and ministry. Short-term demands included urgent support for institutions and non-profit spaces, a cultural New Deal, recognition of artistic research as essential to economic growth, labor reforms in the arts, a legal status for artists (with AWI coordinating a dedicated table), and universal basic income (explored by the Institute of Radical Imagination). The campaign ended about a month before museums closed again. Curator Anna Daneri, a key organizer, stated that the situation has worsened, with the government failing to support the cultural sector. The Forum plans to support other campaigns and focus on urgent themes, including a next focus on resistance practices coordinated by Giuseppefraugallery – Scuola Civica Arte Contemporanea di Iglesias.